Quest for Link
by Saira
Summary: This is a Prelude to my Destiny's Heroes story. R & R please. (And it is for the most part completed.)
1. Death of the Deku Tree

This is a prologue of my other story, Destiny's Heroes. It's what happened before that.  
  
Quest for Link  
  
How many people can honestly say they've been on an adventure? I know I can and it all happened before I even turned 14 where I started an even bigger chapter in my life. But that story is for later. I'd rather speak of my journey through the great land that is Hyrule. My home  
My story begins before I can even remember, but I've pieced it together from visions and things my brother, Link, has told me. Yes, I said visions: mind-numbing pictures or movies that appear in your head to tell you things. Anyway.  
  
There was a storm all around them. Thunder and lightening flashed and a beautiful woman ran across Hyrule field to escape a fierce battle raging on. She carried a young infant in her arms. Her hair was long and brown and her eyes a pale amethyst. Her hair whipped against her face but she continued to run.  
She ran into a forest where everything and everyone was asleep. Blood began to show through the woman's clothes as she ran through a village full of tree houses. She continued down a path until she approached a colossal tree. She dropped to her knees when she was under the shelter of the tree's large branches riddled with green leaves.  
"Great Deku Tree! I beseech thee," she cried clutching the crying infant. Snapping sounds filled the air. A face formed on the vast tree.  
"Inola Trinity. What brings thee to Kokiri Forest?" The tree spoke in a deep comforting voice.  
"My end is nye and I ask thee to take my second child into your midst."  
"You would leave your unique child here? Your son takes refuge here already. They are special and I fear my guidance will not be sufficient. You had promised to take them when you could. Why cant you take them now?"  
"I am injured beyond healing otherwise I would take them far away." The color was fading from her cheeks and her eyes were losing their shine. "Great Deku Tree, will you take her?"  
"I shall"  
"Her name is Sairalinde. Explain to Link. He will not understand"  
Inola laid the baby in front of the tree and fell over. She took one last breath then closed her eyes in a forever sleep. The enormous tree picked up the infant with its branches and cradled her asleep.  
  
The next morning a boy named Link woke up to the sound of laughter. He looked around and saw me. Link was 4 and didn't understand why I was there. I looked a lot like him but my eyes were like my mother's, a deep amethyst.  
As if her was scared, he ran out of his tree house and to a much larger where a couple lived with their newborn. Their son would one day be my best friend.  
"Mrs. Vienne!" he yelled banging on their door  
Vienne lived in Kokiri Forest with her husband Stuart and were the only Hylians besides me and Link. However Link and I were raised as Kokiri and didn't know we were Hylians.  
Vienne opened the door with a worried look  
"Link, what is it, dear?"  
"There is a baby in my room!" he yelled  
"A baby?"  
"Come" he grabbed her hand and took her to his house. Vienne walked and in saw me in a small bed on the counter. "See"  
"Oh, she's adorable" Vienne said. She picked up and a letter fell out of my blankets.  
"Mrs. Vienne. Mrs. Vienne. Look" Link gave her the letter. It told Link it was his responsibility to look after me, and then it left Vienne to explain about our mother.  
From then on, I grew up as a Kokiri, never knowing my real parents. Vienne and Stuart raised me as their own but they made sure I knew that they were not my parents. Their son, Dmitri, was practically my brother too. We were inseparable.  
At first Link didn't like having me around, but I think I grew on him after awhile. He always stood up for me when the other Kokiri children made fun of me.  
When I turned 5, Dmitri began his wonderfully stupid stunts. Yes, at 5 he was already jumping off waterfalls, and roofs. And it's because of this I began learning healing spells. Unfortunately at the same time, the true prankster heart of Dmitri shone through. Shall I relive the day?  
Kokiri Forest is connected to the Lost Woods. Only a true Kokiri child can find their way without becoming lost. But if you have a ball of string, you'll be all right. My dear friend told me to go with him one day because he said he found a new pool and swimming is one of my favorite past times.  
Well, he did find a new pool and told me I should be the first to jump in. When I did, my skin turned a bright blue color.  
"Dmitri, I'm going to kill you!"  
"It's just a bit of dye"  
I was fuming. I chased him all over the place. He led me right out of the forest and embarrassed me to now end.  
But that is one of many. The real point of my story is how I've had adventures and my first adventure did not begin until mine and my brother's birthday was approaching. I would be 6, and he would be 10.  
The day was bright and warm. Perfect weather. There is a bridge spanning across the small village that connected certain buildings. Dmitri and I loved sitting there and watching everyone go abut their day. We also loved coming up with wild ideas about leaving the forest. Dmitri was about to start acting one out when he was interrupted by a horse neighing in the distance.  
"What was that?" I asked  
"I don't know. I'll go get my mum" Dmitri hopped down and went to go get Vienne.  
As he left, dark clouds covered the sky. I heard hoof beats at the entrance of the forest. A dark man came riding in on a black stallion. He wore black armor matching his horse. His skin was a dark tan almost a green shade and his hair was bright red, but his eyes were black as coal and made me shiver when I looked at them.  
He rode in casually and stopped underneath me. I stared at him with a sense of fear and anger but I wasn't sure why. He sat for a moment looking around before he looked up at me and spoke.  
"Hello" he said in a deep gruff voice.  
"Who're you?" I asked rather rudely  
"My name is Ganondorf Dragmire. I am here to see the Great Deku Tree. Dost thou know where he is?"  
"I do but I do not feel compelled to tell you."  
"Why not?  
"I do not know you. Therefore I do not trust you"  
"Then I pray you, get to know me. I have told you my name, what is yours?" he asked  
"Saira."  
"Now, what would you like to know?"  
"I'd like to know many things. Why is the sky blue? Where did magic come from? Why do I look the way I do? But about you? I'd like to know why you are here. You walk into a peaceful forest wearing the colors of death."  
"You judge me by my appearance alone?"  
"You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear" I said  
"And what would your attire speak of you?" he challenged  
"I wear colors that reflect my eyes showing I like who I am. There are mud stains showing that I do not concern myself with primping myself. And they smell of pine because I venture into the forest."  
He seemed astonished that a young girl could speak so forcefully and confident.  
"And mine?"  
"Yours also reflect your eyes. Black eyes are rare and in most stories and myths it is the villain that has eyes as yours. Black also represents mystery. You armor is riddled with sand meaning you are from the desert."  
He grinned slyly then kicked his horse. As he left he said, "You are very perceptive but so am I. The tree grows tall"  
The dark clouds that appeared remained over the village until the man left in anger. I wanted to see what happened but I knew Mido wouldn't let me. Mido was a true Kokiri child who was very jealous of anyone the Deku Tree liked. I was a friend with the Deku Tree and Mido hated me for it. He didn't think it was fair especially since all the Kokiri children had faeries and Link and I did not. Each Kokiri has a faery guide to protect them and help them but we did not and neither did Dmitri.  
A few days passed and a cold wind had descended upon Kokiri Forest. I noticed in the distance a discoloration in the mighty leaves of the Deku Tree.  
The next morning I left early from my tree house because Dmitri wanted to show me something in the Lost Woods. Link, as usual, slept as long as possible.  
While I was gone, the Deku Tree had summoned Link by sending him his own faery by the name of Navi who is now his guide and friend. Navi revealed to Link where the Kokiri Sword was hidden and taught him some quick fighting maneuvers. Link took his and my stash of rupees to buy a Deku shield. Mido had no choice but to let Link see the Great Deku Tree.  
Dmitri led me through tunnels and paths of the Lost Woods until we found an open area where two oddly dressed children were dancing around playing flutes.  
"What are they?" I whispered as we hid behind bushes.  
"My mum says they are Skull Kids. They are children who got lost in the woods and after awhile they gave up and started living in the woods. I've been looking for them because I didn't believe her."  
Dmitri turned back to the kids but they were gone. "Hey, where'd they go?"  
But I was turned around staring right at one of them. I grabbed Dmitri and spun him around so he saw what I did. He screamed like a little girl before cowering behind me in fear.  
The skull kid was nose to nose with me. But suddenly he smiled. The kid jumped back laughing. His friend joined him. Dmitri was still scared and pulling on my clothes really hard. I elbowed him and he let go falling backwards. I turned to him and smiled to signal that the kids were harmless. As I did they began to play on their flutes again.  
"Dmitri, give me your ocarina" I ordered. He did continuing to stare at them  
I began to play and the kids stopped dancing and playing their flutes. They looked curiously at me while a played a song our friend Saria, a Kokiri child, had taught me. They ran up to Dmitri and forced him to dance. He was scared stiff but after a minute seemed to be enjoying himself at the same time. My song ended but the kids kept dancing as if I were still playing.  
They finally stopped and came up to me, " How do you know Saria's song?" one of them asked me.  
"She's my friend" I answered  
"Well, little elf, then you're our friend too."  
I was confused. I had been led to believe I was a Kokiri child.  
"No, I'm not an elf, I'm a Kokiri" I said  
They laughed.  
"You're funny. If you're a Kokiri, where's your faery? Why do you grow? Kokiri are children forever." The other one asked  
"I haven't got a faery and how do you know I'm still growing?"  
"He he. Worry not. Let's play. We'll lead you out later." They said together  
"Wait, I thought you were lost" Dmitri interrupted.  
"Oh, no. We found our way out ages ago, but the Lost Woods is our home and we don't want to go back."  
We played all day. The Skull kids took us everywhere and even showed us the way through the woods to the Sacred Forest Meadow where Saria liked to go. When night began to come, they led us back to Kokiri Forest.  
I was so tired I didn't notice my brother was gone. 


	2. Link's Departure

Chapter 2  
  
The next morning, I finally realized Link wasn't there.  
"Link?" I called.  
"Saira!" Someone called outside. But it wasn't Link because the voice was too high-pitched. I walked outside and my friend Saria was standing the bottom of the tree house. She looked about 10 but even though she was much older, but as I said, Kokiri children never grow up, like Peter Pan. She had short, bright green hair with blue eyes.  
  
"Hi, Saria. What brings thee here? And have you seen Link?" I called down to her.  
  
"That is why I'm here. Take a walk with me"  
I climbed down and walked up to her. We began venturing around Kokiri not really going to any particular destination.  
"Do you know thyself?" She asked as we walked.  
"What do you mean?" I asked in response  
"Dost thou know who you are?" She asked  
"I am Sairalinde Trinity. I am almost 6. I was born in Kokiri Forest where I live with my only brother." I wasn't sure what she wanted me to say  
"Saira, there is much you don't know. Sit down" We were by the fountain in the middle of the forest. We sat at the water's edge and she looked seriously at me.  
"I'm confused"  
"You are very young and probably wont understand what I must tell you, but you have to know. Saira, you are not a Kokiri." She said flatly  
"Huh? Are you and the skull kids trying to mess with my head?" I said feeling a little angry that one of my good friends was telling me this.  
"Saira, your mother left you here when you were just a newborn"  
"No, I'm a Kokiri and they don't have mothers" I protested even though deep down I knew it was true, and wanted it to be true.  
"If you don't believe me; why don't you have a faery? All Kokiri's have one. You. Link and Dmitri do not."  
"That's because Dmitri is Hylian" I then realized "Oh."  
"Now I must also tell you that your brother will be leaving soon."  
"What? Why?"  
"I know not. When you see him, remind him of your friendship and love for you may not see him for a long time"  
Saria got up and left. I sat there but I knew Link couldn't leave until he was 10. There were magic barriers ser by the Deku Tree preventing the small Kokiri from leaving or any child living there that was under 10 years of age. If you tried to get out, the wall would shock you. Dmitri and I had tried on several occasions.  
A few days went by and I saw nothing of my brother. Dmitri did all he could to keep my mind off Link but I still worried. The day before my birthday, I went to the ship to buy more supplies when I heard someone yelling.  
"You killed him! This is entirely your fault! You're not even a Kokiri! Argh!!"  
I saw Mido storm off angrily from his usual post by the path that led to the Deku Tree where he often sat to prevent 'unworthy' people from seeing him. As he moved I saw Link emerge covered in dirt.  
I dropped everything I was carrying and ran to him. I know he wanted to look heroic but I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek anyway. Then I pulled away and hit him as hard as I could.  
"Ow, Saira, what was that for?" he yelled rubbing his arm where I hit him  
"How utterly mean and inconsiderate of you to leave me like that! Didn't say 'bye.' Didn't leave a note or tell me that you were leaving!" I yelled at him  
"Sorry. I should have said something" he said calmly  
"All right, now c'mere. I'll take care of your scratches."  
I healed him up and we walked home together. However when we got home he didn't have good news for me.  
"Saira. I want to say 'happy birthday' now because tomorrow I'm leaving" he said that night when we were eating dinner  
"But you just got back and speaking of which, where were you?"  
"I was helping the Deku Tree." He said sadly  
"So that's who Mido was yelling about?" I asked  
"Yes. The black rider that came through here had cursed him. But I wasn't quick enough to save him."  
"What did he want?"  
"This" Link pulled something out of his pocket. It was a green emerald with a gold rim and a beautiful design.  
  
  
  
"What is it?" I asked curiously  
"The Kokiri Emerald, one of the Spiritual Stones that will open the Temple of Time. There are 3."  
"Oh, I read about those. There the Kokiri Emerald, the Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Sapphire. The book I read said they were tokens from the goddesses given to the three races they trusted. For centuries they were hidden. It also spoke of a boy-"  
I looked at him and then finished what I was going to say "A boy from the forest who was destined to collect all 3 and open the Temple in order to save Hyrule. Please tell me its not you"  
Link avoided my gaze and I felt tears beginning to sting my eyes. I regained myself and asked.  
"When do you leave?"  
"In the morning"  
"How long?"  
"I don't know. Days, weeks, months. Who knows?" he said "Here. Its for your birthday."  
He handed me a leather bag  
"I got something for you too"  
"Wait. Look inside" he said to me  
I did but it looked like a simple bag  
"It's a bag"  
"It's a magic bag. You can put 100 times more than a normal bag and it makes it light as a feather."  
I tested this by running around and putting things inside. It was amazing. I bet I could have put our house itself inside if I wanted.  
"Geez, I wish my gift was as cool as this" I said  
"Give it to me anyway" he said  
I went to my bed and pulled a hat out from under the mattress. It was long for his hair, which was good because he had long hair. It was green to match his tunic.  
"It changes colors to match your clothes. I found the spell in a book"  
Link took it and looked inside, "To Link. Love, Saira" he read. He walked over to me and hugged me.  
"Thank you" he said  
That night we went to Dmitri's house because Vienne was throwing us a little party. Dmitri gave Link a seed bag for his slingshot and gave me a new book. (More healing spells)  
When Link and I went home after the party neither of us could sleep. I laid down in the hammock on our balcony that Link and I had made together. Link was inside packing for his journey.  
"Saira, you better come inside. The Deku Babas like the night" Link called  
"They cant reach me up here" I answered  
" I wasn't asking" He was serious now  
I tore my eyes away from the stars and looked inside at him. I flipped out of the hammock and went inside.  
"You're mad" he said when I sat on my bed and refused to look at him  
"Am I that transparent?"  
"Yeah, I'm looking straight at the wall" he joked  
I forced back a smile but he had caught me.  
"I know you're mad but I have to go" he said  
"Says who?" I asked  
"A book according to you. Everything else according to me"  
"Just because a big tree tells you to go save Hyrule doesn't mean you have to," I yelled angrily before running out and climbing down. Link didn't follow because he knew I would keep going until I knew he wasn't there. The village was dark and I could barely see in front of me but I knew the forest very well and exactly where I was going.  
I went down the path to the Deku Tree where Mido was sleeping at his post. For fun, I gave him a swift kick then ran to the Deku Tree. It saddened me to see the Deku Tree. The moonlight shone brightly and I could see him clearly. His leaves were no longer green and his trunk was the color of a tombstone. Many times I had come to speak with the Deku Tree. I learned many things from him. I noticed his mouth was open. Looking around for anyone, I slowly walked in. It was pitch black so I summoned a light bead just like the Deku Tree had taught me, and it gave me enough light to see.  
  
The tree reeked of death. I saw the remains of Deku Babas, which were plants with tendrils instead of petals. They would remain dormant until someone got too close, then it would lash out at its prey.  
I walked in ever deeper until my foot slipped and I began to fall down a pit. I screamed loudly as I fell faster. I finally landed with a loud splash in a pool of water. Above me I heard someone else scream and a few seconds later something else landed next to me. I swam over to it and pulled it up.  
"Dmitri!?" I yelled. He couldn't swim that well so I dragged him on shore before confronting him.  
"What are you doing?" I scolded  
"I followed you" he said  
  
"I can see that. Why?"  
"I heard you and Link fighting. I figured you'd go do something stupid" he said  
I started laughing, "Well, now thanks to your stupidity we're stuck down inside a giant tree with only a bead of light"  
"Wait, look. There's a torch. Think you can light it?" he asked  
"Maybe" I guided the light over the torch and forced it to spark. Immediately it lit but it also lit every torch in the entire tree.  
  
"It's kind of dumb if you think about it" Dmitri said  
"What is?"  
"That a tree is full of torches. Ah, look. There are vines going all the way up."  
"With wet clothes it will be twice as difficult." I said  
"Well there is one other thing we could do" he looked up  
"What?"  
"HELP!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. I joined  
After about 5 minutes of screaming we saw the last person we wanted to see.  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't 2 trapped Hylians. What a tragedy?" Mido said  
"Cut it out Mido and help us!" I yelled  
But he didn't look twice before he walked out of sight. There were arguing voices then the sound of someone getting punched. Then Link's face appeared.  
"Need a hand?"  
Link threw a rope down and pulled us up. But then he got a very 'parenty' mood.  
"What were you doing?" It's dark, late and who knows what could be out here. Now both of you go home and to your room. Go!"  
As we walked out, Mido was sitting on the ground clutching his eyes. I almost said something but Dmitri hit me and shook his head knowing we were in enough trouble.  
When Link and I were back in the safety of our home, it was awhile before he said anything.  
"Saira, I know you don't want me to go, but its like I'm walking out forever." He finally said.  
"I know but I just don't like the idea of being by myself"  
"I know but you've still got Dmitri and Vienne"  
"Dmitri isn't my brother and Vienne isn't my mother. You're all I've got." I said  
Link was at a loss for words.  
"Just promise me you'll come back. And don't get killed"  
"I will.. and I wont"  
"Well if you're going to be leaving early you better get some sleep."  
I blew out the lamp but I didn't realize I still had the light bead with me until Link said something.  
  
The next morning I woke up just as Link was leaving. I got up and followed him. He stopped at the exit out of Kokiri and stared at it.  
"Weren't you going to say goodbye?" I asked  
"I didn't want to have to bear it." He turned to face me "Just incase it was a long goodbye"  
"Link!" I ran up to him and hugged him one last time "Now go before I make you stay"  
I pushed him past the barrier so I couldn't touch him but I tried anyway. It was like a shock up my arm and little lines of light spanned outward where I hit.  
Link smiled weakly then walked out. If only I had known what I do now, I wouldn't have let him go. 


	3. Speaking to the Trees

Chapter 3  
  
I walked back to our tree house, crying. Something felt weird about this situation, and I didn't like how things had been left. I started climbing the ladder up to the balcony when I heard someone speak.  
"So when will you leave with your stupid git of a friend and rid of us you filthy Hylians?"  
I jumped down, turned around, and looked straight at Mido whose eyes were still blue and purple from being punched the night before.  
"Say that again and I'll bruise something else," I said bitterly. I took a step towards him and instinctively he backed away.  
"Hey, Mido. How's it going?" Dmitri came up behind Mido and wrapped his arm around Mido's shoulder as if they were good friends.  
Mido immediately pushed him off, "Geroff!"  
"C'mon, Mido, cant you put the past behind you. I mean we don't take offense to the fact you left us in a pit. Isn't that right, Saira?"  
"Speak for yourself" I went for Mido but Dmitri grabbed me and put his hand over my mouth before I could say anything worse.  
"Bye, Mido" he said  
"I don't feel like leaving just yet" Mido said crossing his arms defiantly  
"Mido, scram before I let her go"  
Mido stormed off but he wasn't scared of Dmitri letting me go. He was just afraid of Dmitri. Dmitri was wimpy when it came to certain things but defending me was not one of them. He would have dropped Mido in a heartbeat.  
He finally removed his hand from my mouth but held my hands so I wouldn't try to run after Mido.  
"I swear if he says one more thing -"  
"Saira, calm down. I came to tell you something and its going to be hard with you glaring at that little weasel."  
I sighed, wiped my eyes and looked at Dmitri.  
"Good or bad?" I asked  
"Depends on how you take it. I consider this a good thing"  
"What is it?"  
"My parents are moving away" he beamed.  
"And how is that a good thing?" I asked  
"In other words, in two months, we'll be free. They wont be around to tell us what to do"  
"Oh, ok. Where are they moving to?"  
"They were waiting for their house to be built in Kakariko Village and its supposed to be done." Dmitri said happily  
"You've still got two months." I pointed out  
"But then they're gone." He wrapped his arm with mine and began dancing around.  
"Dmitri!" Vienne yelled "Come inside. Oh, Saira, would you like some breakfast?"  
Just then my stomach growled loudly so Dmitri and I went inside to eat.  
"So, Saira, I'm sure Dmitri has told you the news. I'm counting on you to keep him in check. Who knows what he'll try when we leave?"  
"I will. I promise" I said  
"Hey wait a minute. You're supposed to be on my side Saira!"  
"I am but I cant let them know that." I said winking at Vienne  
After we ate, I went back to my empty house. Most of Link's things were gone and left many gaps on our shelves. It didn't even look as if anyone else lived there anymore. I picked up a shirt off the floor and smelled it. I couldn't help myself anymore. I sat down on his bed and cried.  
"Knock, knock." I looked up and Saria was standing in the doorway. "May I come in?"  
"There's plenty of room" She walked in and sat next to me  
Saria had always been a good friend to Link and I. If I ever had a problem, Saria was the first person Link turned to for advice. She also taught me a great deal about the forest and the spirits that dwelled there.  
"I know its hard -"  
"How? How can you know?" I said in anguish not really meaning what I said  
"You don't mean that. I can tell. He won't be gone forever, but I do know he'll be gone for a few months at least. However I do have ways of speaking with him"  
"What? How?"  
"I gave him my ocarina. It possesses great magic. His new faery, Navi, should show him how to use it. Whenever you want to talk to him, just ask me"  
I smiled  
"Come with me. I want to show you something" she said  
I followed her out of my tree house and into the Lost Woods. Right. Left. Right. Right. Left. Straight. Left. I lost track of how many times she took a turn. I recognized some of it from when Dmitri and I played with the Skull kids. Finally we emerged in a small flat open area.  
"Welcome to the Sacred Forest Meadow"  
I gazed around. I didn't think there was anything great about it though  
"Um, wow?" I asked  
"This is just the entrance"  
We walked forward and entered a maze.  
"You know where to go, right?" I asked  
"Of course"  
The path seemed endless but finally we reached some stairs. As we climbed another meadow came into view.  
"Look up" Saria instructed when we reached the top of the stairs  
I did and there was a broken off stairway much too tall for anyone to reach, especially us. It led to a large doorway covered in ivy. Vines covered every inch of it giving it a very mysterious and foreboding look.  
"What is it?"  
"It's the Forest Temple. No one has entered it in a few centuries if not more"  
"Amazing. What's inside?"  
"I only know what I've been told. They say it used to be a magnificent temple where one of the old rulers lived. It was built as a tribute to the sages. However, our land has seen many wars and when evil claimed the land, it was locked up only to be entered when a hero would come to awaken the sage"  
"Whose the sage?"  
"No one knows. Could be anyone. The sage of the forest is a Kokiri. The other sages are members of the race that guard the temple.  
  
Just then I began to hear whispers all around me. I spin around looking for someone but found only Saria.  
"There's no one there" she said  
"So you hear it too?"  
"Always have. The spirits of the forest are whispering to each other and the trees."  
"The trees?" I asked curiously.  
"Yes, the trees speak. Very few are able to hear them. It pleases me that you can"  
"So the trees are speaking to me?"  
"Not necessarily to you, but yes, they are speaking. Can you understand them?"  
"No, its all jumbled"  
"Close your eyes. Concentrate."  
I did. I heard whispers and suddenly they all became clear.  
'Saria brought someone new'  
'Who is she?'  
'She's an elf. Not Kokiri'  
'An elf who grew up as a Kokiri'  
'Is she the one they speak of?'  
I opened my eyes. I was amazed but wasn't quite sure what it all meant.  
"Wow"  
"Look down at what you're standing on" Saria instructed  
I stood on a stone platform. The Triforce was embedded with a darker grey, and a medallion symbol was in the center of yet another shade of grey.  
"What is it?" I asked  
"The mark of a temple. You will find one of these in front of or in every temple."  
"Why are you showing me this?"  
"The trees have many secrets and know more than you could imagine"  
"Okay?"  
"But if you befriend the trees they can share with you infinite knowledge." Saria said "They have told me much"  
"One tree asked 'Is she the one?' What did they mean?"  
"You and your brother are special. There has never been a doubt in my mind about that"  
"So?"  
"Saira, have you ever felt like you knew that something was going to happen before it actually happened?"  
"Why?" I didn't understand what she was getting at so I didn't want to admit that I felt like that all the time.  
"You mother was one of the 'Hylian Seers' and I believe you will follow in her footsteps"  
"A seer? Like someone who has visions?" I asked  
"Yes"  
"But I've never had a vision before"  
"Hmm"  
I walked around. I wanted to see the temple inside.  
'She looks like the past princess'  
The trees began to speak again  
'She's the same'  
'Identical'  
'Her eyes!'  
I turned around and looked at Saria who had begun to play her ocarina.  
"Whose the 'past princess'?" I asked  
"So you heard? The past princess was the princess of the old royal family before the wars. She did a lot for Hyrule until she went to Middle- Earth. Unfortunately she also died there."  
"Middle-Earth?"  
"What? Did you think Hyrule was the center of the universe?"  
"Well, no." I said  
"There are 3 'worlds' persay. Hyrule, Middle-Earth, and Earth, but we rarely interact."  
"How could we?  
"Portals appear all the time that will take you to those worlds"  
I sat down on a stump and listened to Saria play. About an hour later, Saria stopped and said she needed to go.  
"Are you coming?"  
"No, I want to stay a little while longer."  
Saria left me in silence. When I knew she was gone, I got up and stared at the temple. There was a tree that led up to the door. I climbed up the vines that wrapped around the tree and dropped down in front of the door. Unfortunately it was locked. I tried to open it anyway. The moment I touched the handle I felt a rush of cold flow through me. I saw a flash of Ganondorf and pulled away.  
"SAIRA!!" Someone called  
I turned and Dmitri was trapped in the maze, getting shot at by Deku Scrubs.  
"Left. No! Your other left. OK. Now right. One more left." I guided Dmitri though since I could see everything from my standpoint.  
"There you are," he said finally reaching the top of the stairs. "I've been looking everywhere for you"  
"You found me"  
"How'd you get up there?" He asked  
"I climbed. You want to help me down?"  
"How?"  
"Just catch" I said  
"What?"  
"I'm going to jump. Can you catch me?"  
"Yeah. Go ahead."  
I looked down and Dmitri was standing with open arms. I grabbed a vine just incase he missed. But he didn't. I landed perfectly in his arms. A wolf howled and fireflies began to light our way.  
"How was it?" he asked me as I walked with him  
"How was what?"  
"Saira, please don't play dumb. I know how smart you are. I thought I was your friend but if I really was, you'd talk to me"  
I stopped him "Dmitri, you are my best friend and you always will be but I'm trying to adjust to life without my brother whom I've relied on my entire life."  
"Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you"  
"Just give me time"  
  
The next few days were hard. Everyday I woke up seeing Link's bed empty. I finally asked Dmitri to come stay with me so I wouldn't be alone.  
After it had been a week, I was compelled to learn more about Link's mission. I got all the books about Hylian lore from the Triplets. They were the three Kokiri triplets who knew just about everything, but I didn't want to ask because once they start talking they never stop. I was surprised to learn Dmitri loved Hylian lore. He actually read the books with me.  
"Anything?" I asked  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, a whole passage. Why is it we are 6 and reading these?"  
"Dmitri, please"  
"Sorry. Anyway, it reads: 'When the goddesses departed from the newly created Hyrule, they wanted to be sure that the Triforce could never be touched by evil. They forged the 3 spiritual stones and entrusted them to the 3 races they trusted most.' And that's it. It goes on to talk about the sages and their protection on the Triforce."  
"OK, well the Deku Tree is, was, the keeper of the Kokiri Emerald. A Goron and Zora should be the keepers of the other two"  
"Okay, can we go do something now?"  
"What'd you have in mind?"  
"I found something in the Lost Woods when I was looking for you a week ago. C'mon"  
He shut the books and coughed on the dust. He led me back into the forest to a stone archway. However, several large boulders blocked where it led. It was also surrounded buy strange looking flowers.  
"What do you think is on the other side?" I asked  
"My dad said there was a passage that led to Goron City, but it had never been found" Dmitri explained  
"Cool. Problem: How do we get past it?"  
"I don't know" he laughed  
So, now Dmitri and I ha a new way to pas the time. Everyday we went back and tried to figure out how to get past the boulders each idea wilder than the one before. Two months had passed by like seconds and soon Vienne and Stu were moving to their new house in Kakariko.  
"Are you sure you'll be alright without us?" Vienne was becoming frantic  
"We'll be find, mum. Really"  
"Yeah, Vienne. I'll take good care of him"  
"Vienne, lets go" Stu said  
With tears in her eyes, Vienne exited the forest. When Dmitri couldn't see her, he cheered and started doing cartwheels in a circle around me. I pushed him over midway and watched him topple on the ground  
"Ow.. Oh, Saira. We're FREE!"  
  
He was in a good mood for a few hours until his stomach started growling. "Oh, no! What're we going to do about food?"  
"You're helpless and don't worry. I can cook"  
I made us lunch then we went back to the stone archway. We stayed there all day and when night fell I wanted to go.  
"No, I want to figure this out"  
I summoned a few light beads to light the small tunnel. I began to hear a hissing sound behind me. One of the light beads had landed on the flowers and it made the flower begin to glow and hiss giving off smoke.  
"Dmitri"  
"Not now, Saira. I'm almost through"  
But I grabbed him and dragged him away. Just in time to because the flower exploded making the others explode as well. I covered my face and waited for the explosions to stop.  
"Dmitri?"  
"What did you do? He asked lying flat on his back with dust all over his face  
"Sorry"  
I went over to him and helped him up. Dust flew off our clothing making us cough hoarsely.  
"Saira, its open. Look!"  
Dmitri ran at the opening but it was like watching someone try to run through glass. He hit an invisible wall like the one I'd hit when I tried to reach for Link. Dmitri bounced off and light spanned out from where he hit.  
I went to him and bent over staring at him. A red spot was forming on his forehead.  
"That smarts" I said  
"Ugh. Stupid barriers."  
"C'mon. We better get back"  
"Ugh. Gimme a minute"  
I was tired so I healed him enough so he could walk and we walked back. 


	4. First Vision

Chapter 4  
  
The seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours and hours became days. As the weeks passed by I began to lose hope that Link would return. Dmitri and Saria did everything they could to ease my mind. Trying to assure me that Link was ok.  
I began studying other languages and learning about the history of Hyrule. Saria began teaching me about our neighboring worlds so that incase I ever needed to know I would. I had also begun to learn Hylian because I grew up learning Elvish and I wanted to understand the other native language of Hyrule. I took to it quick and was soon fluent in both languages. I could read it much better than Dmitri too.  
It had been 4 months since I had seen Link. I tried to push bad thoughts out of my mind. As I did everyday, I sat on the bridge facing the entrance into Kokiri. No one ever came but I watched and waited nonetheless.  
"Saira?"  
Dmitri sat down with me. I didn't look but I knew it was him. He did everyday and I loved him for it.  
"Everyday you sit with me. Why?" I asked  
"You're my best friend. I hate seeing you like this but the look on your face fades slightly when I join you. Plus I know you'd do the same for me."  
"Thank you"  
I laid my head on his shoulder  
"I'll be right back. Stay here" I said to him. It was winter and I wanted a blanket to warm up. It started snowing when I came out. Kokiri and some places in Hyrule only received snow from the gods. The desert never did and neither did the lake. I heard Dmitri laughing as I came back and it was because he wasn't alone.  
I saw who sat there "Link!"  
He turned and looked at me grinning ear to ear. He held his arms open and I ran to him.  
"My dear baby sister. Did you miss me?"  
"What a stupid question. No letters. Nothing."  
"I'm sorry."  
All I did was hug him. I had a feeling at the pit of my stomach but I didn't want to address it. I finally said something though I didn't want to ruin the moment  
"You're not staying are you?"  
".. No. I have to go to Zora's Domain and retrieve the last stone"  
He stayed all day and we pretended that nothing had happened and he didn't have to leave me again in the morning. I knew my heart would break the moment I saw Link disappear again but I also knew that I couldn't convince him not to go.  
Dmitri stayed at Saria's that night so Link could have his bed.  
"Can I see it?" I asked him talking about the Goron's Ruby.  
He pulled out a beautiful stone from his bag.  
  
"It's beautiful but I still prefer amethyst" I said  
"Yeah but my arms aren't so beautiful. I got plenty of burn marks to show for it"  
I helped Link cover his scars with magic. Link wasn't very talented when it came to changing appearances as I was.  
  
The next morning I said goodbye again but it was easier this time because I now knew he would always come back. There was still a spot in the back of my mind where I though he'd leave and never come back. But Dmitri always found a way for me to forget.  
"'Once upon a midnight dreary. As I wondered weak and weary -"  
"What are you on about?" I said to Dmitri who was hanging upside- down above me in a tree while I was reading a new book.  
"'The Raven.' I found it in a book in the library. Some guy from Earth wrote it"  
"Edgar Allen Poe"  
"How'd you know? Whoa!" And Dmitri fell right into my lap  
"I read a lot so naturally I know one of the most famous poets from Earth. Oh, now look, you got snow all in my book" I shoved him off  
"Saira, c'mon. All you ever do is read. You're probably the smartest person in Hyrule already. Let's play. Help me build an igloo or a snowman. Or best of all you can help me shove snow down Mido's pants."  
I smiled and fought back a laugh, but he didn't notice the snowball in my hand. I threw it straight at him  
"You didn't" he laughed  
"Merry Christmas" I said before running away  
Christmas was happy. I got new clothes sent from Vienne and rupees from Link. Dmitri gave me an I.O.U., but he did put snow down Mido's pants to make me happy.  
Time passed and winter gave way to spring. I started learning to mix potions at the apothecary by an old Kokiri. However, the old Kokiri only knew the basics and I didn't learn more that I already knew form reading. Dmitri had me teach him what I learned. Unfortunately his attention span only allowed so much information to stay.  
If I didn't have Dmitri with me throughout the long months of Link's absence, I would have gone crazy. True, Saria was there, but Dmitri just had an air about him that made me trust him beyond anything. We were always together causing all kinds of trouble. Plus no matter how I was feeling he was there to cheer me up and vice versa although he rarely needed it.  
Nearly a year had passes since I said goodbye to Link for the first time. Dmitri's birthday had come and gone and he was now 7, and my birthday was approaching.  
Dmitri was still sleeping on the eve of my birthday so I went with Saria to the Sacred Forest Meadow.  
"Have you heard anything from Link?" I asked her  
"Not much. He had to make a few stops before going to Zora's Domain. He rarely answers my ocarina anymore"  
I sat there with Saria for a while until I began to feel dizzy.  
"Saira, are you alright?"  
"I feel weird"  
I felt like wind was blowing all around me but when I looked around everything was still. The image of Saria before me had disappeared and was replaced with something else. I saw the land of Hyrule. Dark clouds covered the land. I was now standing in the Temple of Time. Link was there. I began running to him as he played the lost 'ocarina of time' and opened the Door of Time inside the temple. I followed him through where I saw the legendary Master Sword sitting in the middle of the room in a pedestal. Link pulled it out and was surrounded by light. Ganondorf appeared. I saw evil sweep across the land, and I could no longer feel Link until I screamed and closed my eyes.  
When I opened them again I was still looking at Saria and she stared frantically at me  
"Saira, what happened? What did you see?" she asked  
"I don't know! One second--. Next it was like-- like a movie playing in front of my eyes! Oh god, I think Link's in trouble." I didn't make sense  
I ran as fast as my legs could carry my. I grabbed a huge stick when I got to the entrance of Kokiri. I kept hitting the barriers as hard as I could over and over again. Each time it lit up and disappeared just as quick.  
"Saira, what are you doing?" Dmitri asked running up  
"Link's in trouble. Why wont they let me leave?!"  
Dmitri grabbed me and pulled me away kicking and yelling. He fell backward but didn't let me go.  
"Stop, Saira, stop"  
I stopped. I was panting hard. I fell into Dmitri's arms and wept.  
"Shh" he held me close. Saria ran up  
"Saira you had a vision. What did you see?"  
But Dmitri hushed Saria and took me home. I told him everything while he made hot chocolate for us.  
"Wait, so you had a vision?" Dmitri said disbelieving  
"Yeah. Saria said my mother was a 'seer.' It must run in the family"  
"But Saira even if you did get out, you wouldn't even know where to begin"  
"But I know where it ends"  
"Think about what you are saying" Dmitri said  
".. You're right. How many years till' I'm allowed to leave?"  
"3 tomorrow"  
I spent that night in worry. I'd had a vision and according to everyone and everything I knew, visions don't lie. Something was going to happen very soon and I could do nothing.  
The next morning was bright and cheerful to everyone but me. Even though the sun shone down, I kept waiting for clouds to appear and confirm my vision. I looked up more information on the Spiritual Stones and found a picture of the last one: Zora's Sapphire.  
  
  
"Saira! Come quick!" Someone yelled from outside  
I walked outside and a harsh wind swirled around me. I looked up and storm clouds moved swiftly across the sky. Rain began to fall and at that moment I know it would be a long time before I would lay eyes on my brother again.  
The rain covered my tears as I stood getting drenched in the ever- harder rain. A blast of light filled the sky but it wasn't lightening. Dmitri forced me inside when hail began to replace the rain. The sounds outside were deafening  
Dmitri walked toward me with a wet cloth. He dabbed my head with it and it stung. Apparently one of the hail pieces had hit me but I didn't notice. The hail and rain lasted hours upon hours and it seemed it would never stop.  
"Now do you believe me?" I asked softly  
"Never had a doubt"  
"Hail of darkness falls and the Hero of Time is taken. Evil shall rule the land until his return."  
I wasn't sure what I was saying. I'm not even sure it was me talking but I knew that what I spoke was true.  
No one can describe the heartache I felt. It cannot be put into words for I wanted to die and only Dmitri kept me here. Each day I prayed to the goddesses to send me a sign to say Link was alright and he would walk into Kokiri Forest at any moment  
But with each day that passed my hope died. I was a frightened 7 year old girl with no parents and only my best friend for company but I know now that it was that best friend that kept me going. 


	5. Leaving Kokiri

Chapter 5  
  
I'll skip ahead a few years but I'll tell you briefly what happened. Link opened the Temple of Time and had even pulled the Master Sword from its holy resting place, but unfortunately that gains you access to the Sacred Realm where no evil is allowed and the very place where the Triforce is kept. Ganondorf was able to get inside the Sacred Realm. However, another legend came into play. The goddesses who created Hyrule left many defenses because the Triforce is an ancient powerful magic that could give someone enough power to rule the world  
If you were able to access the Sacred Realm, the person would be granted one wish. If someone pure and noble of heart entered and places his hand on the Triforce, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. But if someone evil did, the Triforce would split into its three parts leaving the evil person with only the portion they aspired to. The three parts are Power, Wisdom, and Courage.  
Ganondorf took the 'power' piece but was forced from the Temple and Sacred Realm, but no one knows why. The power piece gave him enough to dethrone the royal family of Hyrule. The other two pieces were given to the two beings that were examples of that piece but no one knows whom they are. Ganondorf now seeks those individuals because only with the power of all three pieces can he seize control of Hyrule and the other worlds as well. I've heard rumors that a boy vanished from the Temple angering Ganondorf and Princess Zelda, the only remaining member of the royal family, has gone into hiding.  
Nearly 3 years have gone by and as sure as the sun rises and sets, dark clouds hover above our lands. Even our fair forest was subject. Deku Babas have grown enormous in size and Deku Scrubs litters the place making it dangerous to set foot out of our homes. However, Dmitri and I can't be contained. I taught myself new spells to keep the threat at bay.  
"Well, well, well. 10. The big one-o. How does it feel?"  
"I'm not there yet Dmitri" I said  
We were lying in hammocks on the balcony of the tree house.  
"Tomorrow. It's close enough" he said  
"How does it feel to you? You've been able to leave for 2 months now"  
"It's a freedom I never though I'd feel. Mainly because I never thought I'd grow up" he said airily  
"Even though you're too chicken to leave? Anyway, just because you're ten doesn't mean you're grown up"  
"Shut up"  
I laughed  
"You still planning on doing it?" He asked me seriously  
"I've waited three years and I don't plan on waiting anymore"  
"You realize I'm going with you, right?"  
"No" I said firmly "You promised your parents to stay in Kokiri. Anyway, Link is my brother and rightly I should be the one to find him."  
"Saira -"  
"No"  
I had decided after Link never came back that I would search Hyrule until I found him. A person doesn't just lose a brother and not look for him.  
That night I used the bag Link gave me to pack my things as Dmitri watched sadly.  
"You know this wouldn't bother me so much if you'd just let me come with you" Dmitri said.  
"You cant change my mind" I said  
"When are you going?"  
"Dawn. The sooner the better"  
"Here. Take this" he handed me a vile of red liquid  
"What this?"  
"Remember that IOU? I've been saving up to get you this. Call it a going away present" he said "I'm gonna miss you Sairalinde Trinity"  
I hugged him although I still didn't know what was in the vile  
"Just promise me something" I said  
"Hmm?"  
"Never call me by my full name again"  
"You actually think that'll work, Sairalinde? Now get some sleep. You have a long journey ahead of you" I said  
We blew out the candles and soon the air was filled with the sound of Dmitri's soft snores. I drifted off but it felt like I'd only been asleep for a minute when the sun crept over the horizon and shone through my window waking me.  
I got up wearily and changed clothes. I packed the rest of my belongings while Dmitri continued to sleep. Then I walked over to him and ran my finger up his spine instantly making him jump and fall off the bed. See, Hylians have very sensitive backs and the lightest touch gives up shivers  
"Geez, Saira, a nicer wake up would have been, well, nice." He rubbed his neck staring at me.  
"I didn't want to go without saying goodbye and that's the only thing you cant sleep through"  
"You better not have left without saying goodbye. C'mon, I'll walk you down there'  
"Change first. Don't walk out there in your pajamas." I said smiling  
I climbed down and waited for Dmitri who, a few seconds later, came falling down over the edge into the bushes at the bottom. I bent over him and saw him spitting leaves out of his mouth. I helped him up and pulled a few twigs out of his hair.  
"Thanks" he said  
"Next time put your shoes on sitting down" I shoved him back down and started walking.  
I got to the entrance/exit to Kokiri but did the same thing Link had done. I stood there and stared at the dark tunnel out of Kokiri.  
"Your chance finally arrives and you find you cant leave?" Dmitri asked  
"I will" I said without moving  
"I can still go with you if you want" Dmitri said to me  
"No. I can do this"  
Then Dmitri did something I didn't expect. He turned me around and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I stared at him with a shocked expression.  
"Don't forget me, okay?"  
I hugged him again and picked up my bag  
"Well, I better go" I fought back tears then turned away when they started coming down "I got something in my eye"  
"Go" he pushed me through the tunnel. I walked until I reached the Kokiri Bridge that separates us from the rest of the world. There was another tunnel but I found I could go through this one on my own. I emerged on a path surrounded by trees that led away from the forest. I walked about 20 feet and reached an enormous field that looked never ending. I sat on a root sticking out of the ground that belonged to a huge tree marking where Kokiri was. I marveled at the vastness before me and wondered how I'd ever see it all.  
I pulled out a map of Hyrule Stu had given me so I would know where everything was if I ever did leave, but I'm sure he wouldn't like that I was using it so soon.  
'Well' I thought 'Here goes nothing'  
In the distance were high walls and the smell of hay was downwind. I tied my hair back and put my bag on my shoulder and began walking up the hill before me.  
Everything in Kokiri was flat or trees but I was in shape so the hills didn't bother me. A large stone wall spanned across the field. When I got to it, I climbed on top of it and had a look at my surroundings and what an amazing sight it was. Or it would have been if not for the evil clouds that always covered Hyrule today.  
There was a giant black castle in the distance with red turrets. In front were the remains of the old castle of the royal family. I could see that far because I am an elf and we have superior senses and vision was one of the best and most useful.  
A twig snapped behind me and I turned around swiftly. But nothing or no one was there. I had the feeling I was being watched.  
"Who's there?" I called  
I checked around but found nothing. That night and for many I slept under the stars. I created a magical barrier to protect me from anything that could attack.  
About the fourth day of camping out, I decided to get a move on my search. However I still felt like someone was following me. I climbed up a tree and held myself in a handstand position ready to jump. I waited silently until I heard the rustle of leaves below me and I swung down and tackled the person there forcing us both to roll down a hill until I pinned him.  
"DMITRI!!!" I screamed in astonishment  
There was no mistaking him. His jet-black hair and brown eyes stared at me. He had a worried grin on his face. He spoke to me in true Elvish  
"Vedui, Saira. Nae saian lumme'"  
Translated -Hello, Saira. It has been too long-  
"Dmitri! Dolle naa lost. Your head is empty. What the hell are you doing?" I yelled refusing to let him up even though he could have easily flipped me off by now.  
"Saira, please, understand, I couldn't let you go alone"  
"Shut up. How long have you been following me?"  
"Since you l-left" I accidentally dug my knee into him. "Can you let me up so I don't have to force you?"  
"One more question"  
"Shoot"  
"When did Link ask you to?" I asked  
"Do what?"  
"Don't be dumb"  
"Alright. He came over when you were asleep and forced me to promise him that I'd take care of you"  
I finally got off him but I didn't help him up. I walked back up the hill to get my stuff. Once I did I started off again  
"Saira, wait!" Dmitri called  
"Go home, Dmitri"  
"Now do you really think that will work?" he said running up to me  
"I don't need your help so just go back" I ordered  
"You know I wont. I'm just as stubborn as you" he said seriously  
"Ugh"  
I couldn't convince him to leave but I at least forced him to walk behind me to suppress my urge to hit him. We were near the castle but night had come and I decided to stop.  
Unfortunately I forgot to set up my protection that night in my anger. And that was a big mistake on my part  
I woke up to what sounded like knocking. But I didn't see anything  
"Dmitri" I whispered but he snored on  
I turned back guessing it was nothing but my imagination.but what I saw was not my imagination and scared me immensely. It was a skeleton with burning red eyes.  
"Ahh" I screamed. The thing swiped at me and knocked me on top of Dmitri waking him  
"Saira, what are you - Oh my god!"  
About ten skeletons were coming out of the ground  
"Who are these guys and what'd you do to piss them off?" he yelled  
But I was holding my arm. The skeleton had gashed my arm. Dmitri laid me down and stood in front of me. He pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at them.  
There was a flash of light then all the things froze. Dmitri picked up a large stick and smashed every last one. The smashed bones were engulfed in green flames before disappearing.  
He looked at my arm and went to my bag. He pulled out the vile he'd given me and poured it on the gash. My arm completely healed itself and was good as new.  
"Sure you don't need my help?" he asked as he sat down in my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. I threw him off and brushed my hair out of my face before smiling.  
"Fine" I agreed  
I slept next to Dmitri because I was still scared something was going to pop out of the ground. 


	6. Lon Lon Ranch

Chapter 6  
  
The next morning we headed to the castle. It was actually nicer to have the company of my best friend. When we reached the castle, someone was already there but whoever it was didn't hear us.  
As we hid I became really dizzy and fell down. Flashes of a beautiful girl crossed my eyes. Then a scene appeared where she and Link were speaking, then one of the girl riding away in the rain on a white mare with a hard looking woman. Link was watching before Ganondorf approached on his black stallion.  
My vision ended and I was breathing hard since I still wasn't accustomed to having them. I realized that the girl was Princess Zelda. She was the daughter of the King and considered to be one of the fairest elves in Hyrule. Slowly I got up and walked to the person standing there.  
"Your highness?" I asked startling them  
Indeed the girl was beautiful but she was not dressed at all like a princess. She wore tight blue pants with a silver shirt bearing the 'eye of truth' painted in red. A scarf hung I assumed was supposed to cover her face.  
"Huh?" Zelda said "Your highness no longer applies to me. Hyrule has fallen into a pit of despair and the Hero of Time has not awakened after three long years."  
She spoke with great wisdom though she was not that old.  
"Princess my name is -"  
"I know who you are, Sairalinde Trinity. A Hylian who thought herself a Kokiri. Now she leaves in search of her brother"  
"How'd you know?"  
"People talk but only the trees have the true story. They thrive on gossip"  
"That I know" I said  
"Your friend does not have to remain hidden"  
"Dmitri, come on out" I called  
"What has happened? People spoke of Hyrule as a beautiful place. Almost paradise" I asked  
"The evil king of the Gerudos stripped the land. He fought my family and won. He murdered them and took control. Link was a friend and with his help we could have won, but when he opened the Door of Time, Ganondorf was able to obtain a piece of the sacred Triforce. The sage, Rauru, took him. Where? I do not know" Zelda explained then continued.  
"I have been running and hiding for years. I am disguised as a Shiekah. One day I will find Link and help him in disguise as Shiek of the Shiekahs."  
"My journey is long for I too search for Link" I said  
"As help I shall give you advice" Zelda said "Start by going to Lon Lon Ranch. A girl named Malon may be able to help you find your brother. And Sairalinde, be careful, Ganondorf has caused the escape of much evil."  
I bowed. Then Zelda threw something on the ground surrounding her with smoke. When it lifted, she was gone.  
"She's hiding something" Dmitri said after staying in silence  
"What do you mean?"  
"She's keeping something from you"  
I knew Dmitri was right. But I figured it was one of those things I'm better off not knowing, but I would need to know later.  
"C'mon, the ranch is south and evil is stirring" I said  
It took nearly an hour before we reached Lon Lon Ranch, but luckily the road was marked and flat. When we got inside I saw nothing. No people, only horses running around in a pen. There were cuccos or chickens to the left eating corn off the ground. There were only two buildings. One, which I assumed were the stables by the looks and smell of it and the other, must be their home.  
I finally spotted a tall thin man with an ugly mustache standing by the gate of the pen holding the horses.  
"Looks like a weasel" Dmitri said  
I laughed a little too loud and the weasel-man looked over at us and smiled falsely. We walked over to him and said 'hello.' His response was not as polite  
"Who're you?" He asked rudely  
"Um, well, my name is Saira, and this is my friend Dmitri" I responded as nicely as I could  
"What do you want?"  
"You know the polite thing to do is tell us your name" Dmitri replied coolly  
Taken aback the man said "I'm Ingo, owner of Lon Lon Ranch. Now then, can I interest you in a ride on one of my fine horses? Only 10 rupees for 2 minutes"  
"2 minutes!" Dmitri yelled  
If there was one thing Dmitri loved to do more than anything else, it was piss off people like Ingo. And he was extremely good at it.  
"You don't actually expect me to pay that much" Dmitri said  
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.  
"My good sir, instruction is included"  
"You're more daft than I though" Dmitri said "It'll take you 2 minutes for instruction. Did you expect to let us mount the horse then immediately tell us to get off?"  
"Well, no"  
"You know, I'll just have to go speak to Ganondorf about this"  
Now it was getting good  
"Wait, there's no way you associate with the Great Ganondorf" Ingo retaliated  
"How dare you! You question my knowing him. He would be outraged to hear this. His adopted nephew and niece being treated so horrendous by a subject"  
"Now, wait. Adopted nephew and niece? That's outrageous"  
"Then why don't we go ask him right now. Come Saira, let's go see Uncle Ganon about this" I nodded and we started walking away until Ingo stopped us.  
Ingo stared Dmitri straight in the eyes and Dmitri stared right back.  
"Who knows what the Great Ganondorf would do if you are speaking the truth? Ride as long as you like. Free of charge. Just tell your uncle what a gracious man Ingo is"  
"Will do my good man"  
I had to hand it to Dmitri; his skills did come in handy because I knew I could never do that. After we mounted the horses, Dmitri forced Ingo to take our bags to one of the extra room they had. We rode most of the day and Dmitri was terrible. He must have fallen off 20 times while I rode with perfect ease.  
When the sun began to set, I quit riding and went exploring. I took my horse to the stables first and that's where I met Malon.  
"Vedui, my name is Saira" I said  
"Vedui, I'm Malon" I was happy to find she knew Elvish and Hylian too.  
She seemed very sad. Her face was tan apparently from riding and she had blue eyes with bright red hair. She had a very young look to her  
"Not to be offensive, but why are you so sad?"  
She sighed deeply "Have you met the new owner of the ranch? Ingo the Annoying?"  
"I'm going to take a stab at this and say you don't like him" I said  
"You'd be undeniably correct. My father Talon used to own this ranch. People of Hyrule loved him and our ranch. Then Ganondorf seized control. He kicked my father our and put Ingo in charge. We have lost pretty much all of our business."  
"Why do you stay?"  
"When I disobey, he treats the horses so badly and I couldn't imagine what he would do if I left"  
"That's awful"  
"Let me give you a little advice, don't stay long. He will charge you out of all your money"  
"We got to ride free. Ingo thinks Dmitri and I are the adopted niece and nephew of Ganondorf"  
"That may be but nephew or not, he'll get all he can out of you since you're the first business we've had since the faery boy"  
"Faery boy?"  
"Yeah he stayed here one night. That was a little over 3 years ago. He also helped my father one time. My dad had fallen asleep while delivering milk to the castle and the faery boy woke him up. I think his name was Link. I still remember he was the only one who could tame - wait, you're holding Epona!"  
I looked at the horse I'd been riding. She had dark red fair with a white mane and tail.  
"So?" I didn't see the big deal  
"Epona never lets anyone but me ride her"  
"Okay? Well she came to me. All I did was play a song on Dmitri's ocarina Link had taught me, then she came up and nuzzled me"  
"Link taught you? How do you know the faery boy?"  
"The 'faery boy' as you so eloquently put it, is my brother" I said petting Epona "Link Trinity. It's actually why I'm here. I'm looking for him"  
"Really? He's your brother? Ah, now I can see. Only the eyes separate you" Malon said smiling  
"I was sent here. Someone told me you could help"  
"I'm afraid all I know is that he had traveled to Lake Hylia before he disappeared"  
"Thank you"  
Outside shouting had erupted between Ingo and Dmitri. Malon and I ran to hear a little better.  
"How dare you charge me to stay here?" Dmitri yelled  
"Nephew or not, a fee is requited and besides you have shown me no proof to even suggest you are who you say you are"  
"Ganondorf will hear of this. I assure you." Dmitri said as he stormed off to our room. Ingo didn't notice the devilish smile he wore.  
I bid farewell to Malon for the night and went to the room with Dmitri to hear the whole story.  
"Not much to tell. I tried to get out of paying for our rooms" he explained  
"How'd that go?" I joked  
"I got half off" he laughed  
For awhile we sat there and talked  
"Dmitri stop that," I scolded. He liked to change the color of his hair. Hylian elves, I had discovered, were very good at changing our appearance with the need of potions or spells. I was really good but I didn't show off. Dmitri could only change his hair and eyes but that was the extent of his abilities because he didn't practice like I did.  
"Sorry, I'm bored" he replied changing his hair back to its natural black  
"I could just imagine what Vienne would say"  
"So, how long are we staying here?" he asked  
"A few days, then we go to Lake Hylia"  
"But that's a 6-day journey" he protested  
I looked sternly at him "I didn't ask you to come so don't complain"  
We stayed for 3 more days. Malon had become my friend and taught me a lot about horses. I had introduced Dmitri to Malon and he took a real shine to her. One night while I was out riding, he spent three hours with her.  
The next morning we out again. Malon had snuck us some supplies because Ingo insisted on charging us for everything. He'd taken nearly half our money in fees but I found out later Dmitri had stolen most of it back.  
"So are you sad to leave?" I asked when we stopped that night  
"Malon was cool and Ingo was fun to irritate but the smell of that place was getting to me"  
"Uh huh. Admit it. You liked her"  
"I'm still too young to like girls" Dmitri said avoiding my gaze  
"Oh, so you were actually talking for those 3 hours the other night?"  
He glared but said nothing  
"Could you help me out here? I've been trying to start a fire for about an hour now" Dmitri begged  
I laughed and summoned a light bead to start a fire.  
"You've got to teach me that" he said  
"Sure" I said. I stared up at the night sky and tried to find all the constellations. Link and I had made up our own and they were my favorite. I would have given anything to have him lying with me naming the stars like we used to.  
Dmitri laid down "Look, there's the Big Spoon"  
"Dipper" I corrected  
"Right and Sagicarus"  
"Sagittarius" I laughed  
"I know you want him here" Dmitri said  
"Am I that transparent?"  
"No. I can just tell. Your eyes are brighter when you are remembering him. I know how close you were"  
"It hurts. I miss him so much"  
"I know, but you'll always have me" he said being stupid and snuggling up again me staring up with puppy dog eyes  
"That pleases me more than you know" I said 


	7. Lake Hylia

Chapter 7  
  
The 6-day journey turned into an 8-day journey but it passed by quickly to me with Dmitri's company. He even managed to make me forget about Link for a day, which I thought, was impossible.  
We reached Lake Hylia in mid-day. However, we were shocked by what lay before us. It was as if there was no lake. There was no water from our view except at the very bottom. It was like someone had pulled a giant plus and drained it.  
"What in the name of Farore did this? Dmitri asked just as wide-eyed as me.  
"Zelda said Ganondorf allowed much evil to escape. I guess all of Hyrule has been claimed by it" I answered softly  
As far as the eye could see, it just looked like a giant crater except for pieces of land that stuck up in certain places. In the middle piece of land there was a large doorway submerged in about the last 30 feet of water left in the lake.  
"Wait, after all the books I've read, I cant believe I didn't know what this was" I said excitedly  
"Then what is that?"  
"One of the 6 temples of Hyrule. In the past they were the resting places for the 6 sages. Legend says that when darkness would cover the world, a hero would appear to awaken the sages and then a new sage would emerge. The 7th sage."  
Just then the ground began to shake  
"What's that?" Dmitri asked after it stopped  
"My bet something that took over the temple is there"  
"Wanna find out what?" Dmitri asked sneakily  
"I'm only going to say this once" I said staring straight at him. "No"  
"Alright. So now what?"  
"Well there are two houses here and a garden with one scarecrow. I say we go to the houses and see if anyone knows anything about Link" I suggested  
And that's what we did. There was an oddly shaped house across from us on the edge of where the lake used to come up. We went there first. The house was, if possible, weirder inside than out. There were creatures in jars and odd shaped jars and glasses with a few bubbling above a Bunsen burner. Dmitri reached for them but I slapped his hand and shook my head.  
Behind us the door opened and a gangly old man walked in. He saw us and dropped the tray he was carrying. I ran and caught it just before it hit the ground  
"Ah, I remember when I was young enough to do that. Thank you child. What's your name?"  
The man was creepy but kind so I answered "My name is Saira. Sorry about just waltzing into your house like this"  
"I was just startled that's all" he said  
"Damn!" Dmitri yelled shaking his hand wildly  
"Dear boy, you never pick up a beaker when its been on a Bunsen burner unless you hold it at the very top. Here put this on it" the old man tried to put something from one of his jars on Dmitri's hand but he pulled away.  
"What is it?" Dmitri asked  
"A concoction I made. It heals burns"  
"Oh, Dmitri, don't be a baby" I grabbed his hand and held it out "Do it quick. I cant hold him that long"  
Instantly after the liquid hit his hand, it healed completely  
"Amazing" I said examining every inch of his hand. I was more amazed than Dmitri.  
"What is that stuff?" Dmitri asked  
"No, better question, how did you come up with that?" I asked  
"Heh heh. This here building is my laboratory. I mix various compounds with Lake Hylia's water to produce medicines. This one is the most effective"  
"What's supposed to be in that pit?" Dmitri asked being nosy  
"When the lake was full, water filled it. It kept me from having to leave to get the water. However, now the lake has mysteriously drained and I must drag my old bones down there"  
"How long ago did the water disappear?" I asked  
"Oh, about a year ago it started. It's finally stopped. That little bit of water is what we get from the Gerudo River Fall"  
"Whoa" Dmitri started leaning over the edge  
"Stop playing around" I said grabbing him  
"Sorry"  
"You know maybe you could help me" The old man said  
"With what?" Dmitri asked skeptically  
"I was wondering if you could get me some supplies. Plants, or minerals I can mix with the water"  
"What's so special about Hylia's water?" I asked  
"It's said to have magical properties. Course I don't really believe that. I think there are just certain chemicals in it" he said matter-of- factly  
"You don't believe in magic?" I asked sadly  
"It's just a silly belief. I've never seen anything to suggest magic exists" he said mixing things together  
I looked over at Dmitri with a grin. I was a firm believer in magic because I knew it and was good at it. Dmitri grinned back and nodded  
"How bout' I give a you a demonstration?" I said  
"My dear, there is nothing you could do to convince me"  
The old man kept his back turned while I summoned a light bead. I made it fly over the old man.  
"What is that?" he asked as I made it fly around his work area lighting everything up.  
"It's magic"  
"It's a firefly"  
"Do fireflies glow all the time? Anyway it doesn't have any legs or antennas" I argued  
"Is it really?" he said  
"I shook my head "Do you need more convincing because I have plenty more where that came from?"  
"Saira, do your water trick" Dmitri said  
"Which one?"  
"The one I like"  
"But there's no water"  
"There's a bucket fill right over there" Dmitri pointed out  
"Okay, now watch. I'm determined to make you believe." I walked over to the water and started making spiral motions with my hands. The water began to lift out of the bucket in the same motion as my hands.  
"Hurry Saira. This is the part even I can do"  
"Patience, Dmitri, is a virtue. I'm getting there"  
The old man was watching me with a look of pure delight. Next I created a person from the water I was now floating in mid-air. I made the water person walk around and do all sorts of thing. Then I made him bow and tip his water hat before I dropped him back into the bucket.  
"Marvelous. I haven't been this entertained since that young lad came here. Good lad kept a lonely old man happy if only for a few days.  
"What was his name?" I asked hopefully  
"Link I believe"  
"You've met Link?"  
"Oh yes. He came here to ask me if I knew anything about a stone. Sadly I couldn't help him, but he helped me nonetheless" The man said "May I ask why you ask?"  
"We're looking for him" I answered "He's my brother"  
"Well, I'm happy to meet you. Link was a kind young lad and I was happy to have met him. Wait, I do recall that he went to visit the fishing pond. You might try asking the man who owns it if Link said where he was going"  
"Thank you. Thank you very much" I said excitedly  
We headed for the door but the old man stopped me  
"Saira, was it?"  
"Yes"  
"How did you do that thing with the water?"  
"Not sure. Everyone has magic in them, but not many believe they can do magic. I, however, really believe I can and I do."  
"Could you teach me?"  
"You cant really teach a person but I can probably help. But only if you teach me how to mix those potions" I said  
"It's a deal. Now off with you. Oh, wait, do you have a place to stay?"  
I looked at Dmitri who was shaking his head behind the man so we wouldn't stay there.  
"I'm sorry to say we already have a place to stay. But I shall be back tomorrow as promised"  
I bowed courteously before walking out. Dmitri was right on my heels. He accidentally tripped me and I landed face first.  
"Oh, you're going to get it now" I laughed getting up and chasing him. He zigzagged back and forth trying to lose me. He started running backward knowing he was faster than me. Big mistake because he fell off the edge of the garden we'd seen earlier. He lay there with the wind knocked out of him. I bent over him trying to keep from laughing.  
"You alright, chap?" Someone asked  
I looked around but saw no one except a scarecrow.  
"Can you hear? I said, are you alright?"  
It was the scarecrow. I stood speechless  
"Saira, please tell me I'm hallucinating and that a scarecrow is not talking to me"  
"I really wish I could Dmitri. I really wish I could"  
"Name's Pierre. How's the young lad?" the scarecrow asked  
"He-he-he'll be fine" I stuttered  
Still staring at the scarecrow I helped Dmitri up.  
"Oh, looks like he's got a good knock on the head there"  
I tore my eyes away from the talking scarecrow and looked at Dmitri. He had a welt forming on his head and blood was slowly coming from it.  
"C'mere" I put my hand over it and said a spell. Then I took a piece of cloth out of my bad and wiped away the blood. Underneath the knot had healed and nothing was there.  
"Thanks" Dmitri said "So, Pierre?"  
"That's me name. Pierre the high stepping scarecrow. You play a song to me and I'll remember it for life."  
"Really?" I asked "Why dont you sing us a few then?"  
"OK, um, let's see. Been a few year's since anyone's had me remember one. Last was Link. Boy, did that kid have rhythm."  
Just then Pierre broke into song  
"Shut up for a moment" Dmitri said before I had a chance to.  
"Oh, sorry"  
"Not to be rude but what do you know about Link?" Dmitri demanded  
"Came to the lake bout' 3 and a half years ago. Came right out of the water just like one of them Zora people. Amazin'. Never seen a man or elf come out before. Anyway, apparently he came looking for the Zora's Sapphire whatever that is. Instead he found a singin' scarecrow and a message in a bottle. After he found that he left and I've not seen him since."  
I'd heard enough. No one knew. I stormed off. There were remains of an old building where I went to sit. A bit of water covered it but I didn't care. I pulled out my map and apparently right where I was standing there should be a secret tunnel to Zora's Domain.  
"Dmitri, come here!"  
Is showed him the map. He tried to avoid falling in the puddles of water by hopping on pieces of rubble sticking out of the ground  
"Quit playing around" I said pulling him down  
"Ah, Saira, I wanted to keep my boots dry"  
"You know I couldn't let that happen. Anyway, look"  
"And what pray tell am I looking at?"  
"Don't be stupid"  
"It's a map of Hyrule" he said obviously  
I slapped him in the back of the head  
"Ow"  
"Do I need to put a little star that says 'we are here' so you can figure our what I'm trying to point out?"  
"Keep your shirt on. Wait, I didn't say that. Anyway, we're by an old building that was destroyed in a war ages ago. What's what little line going across the map to Zora's Domain?"  
"It's a tunnel" I stated  
"Wait, if that's a tunnel and Zora's Domain is the last place Link was seen -"  
"Someone there might know where he is" I said "C'mon"  
I ran to the edge and stopped. There was a 30-foot drop. I started climbing down.  
"Saira, I really don't think this is a good idea. Chances are the tunnel is filled with all sorts of nasty stuff"  
"Well, we wont know unless we climb down. It could still be filled with water. Like a sealed tunnel. If that's the case, I know a plant that makes you breath underwater"  
"You do?" he asked  
"Yeah. Found only in Hyrule at the bottom of the lake, which is easy to get to now that it's practically empty. I wish I had a Zora's Tunic but they cost a lot of money or are only presented to heroes of the Zora's. To my knowledge, the king of Hyrule was the only person who had one"  
"You have too much stuff crammed in that brain of yours"  
"I'll take that as a compliment'  
I concentrated on keeping myself from looking down. The wall was difficult to scale and if I looked down it would make me let go.  
"Um, Saira?"  
"What?" I didn't look at him  
"Need an easier way down?" He said feeling smart as he was hanging next to me on a rope  
"I knew I forgot to bring something" I said trying to play it cool  
"C'mon then"  
He slid down and held the rope so I could do the same. What we found at the bottom was not uplifting  
"Solid ice" Dmitri said  
"God, I could have searched every place in Hyrule by the time that thaws"  
"It wont thaw" Dmitri said  
"What?"  
"It wont thaw. It's not natural. Watch"  
He pulled out a pocketknife then hacked away at the ice. Every time some fell off it would instantly grow back.  
"I say we stick to searching all of Hyrule" Dmitri said 


	8. The Fishing Hole

Chapter 8  
  
The lake was quite enjoyable after awhile. Even though there wasn't much to look at, there were lots to do. Everyday I went to the old man's laboratory to learn his potions and teach him tricks while Dmitri dove off the small waterfall where the river flowed in or talked with Pierre. I realized very early on that potion making was much more than mixing ingredients. Everything had to be carefully measured and heated, and even stirred certain ways at certain times, but I stuck with it.  
Neither of us had gone to the fishing house yet but we kept planning to. There was a piece of land above the temple but we hadn't mustered the courage to go there either.  
"Alright, now add a bit of that red liquid" The old man instructed  
"What is it?"  
"Frog's blood"  
"Oh, I didn't want to know that"  
"OK, let's see how it turned out"  
The old man had an injured gerbil and the moment my potion hit the injury, it healed within seconds.  
"Excellent" he said, "I couldn't have done it better myself"  
"Thank you. Now its your turn"  
The old man did the same trick as I had when I met him with a flaw here and there but otherwise just as well  
"Great. You know, I'm really going to miss it here" I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door  
"Saira, what do you mean? Are you leaving?"  
"Tomorrow. I've been here for almost 3 months and I really must continue. I'll come back one day"  
"Do be careful"  
I smiled and walked out. Dmitri was playing in the small waterfall that dept the small pool at the bottom of the lake filled.  
"Dmitri, get ready. We're leaving tomorrow"  
"Bout' time. I still want to go to the fishing hole before we leave though."  
"All right, we'll go tomorrow. Now, I want to go out there" I pointed to the land above the temple.  
"You're kidding right?"  
"No. You coming?"  
Dmitri sighed before agreeing. The bridge was creaky and didn't look like it could hold much weight.  
"I'll go first" I said but Dmitri pulled me back  
"No, let me. I weight more than you and if it holds me we know it can hold you. Plus if I fall, you can keep me from dying"  
I nodded then watched him make his way across. He stopped midway in a piece of land then motioned for me to come. I joined him then sat down on what I thought was a boulder  
"Um, Saira, what are you sitting on?"  
"A rock"  
"No, I don't think rocks are usually shaped like tombstones" Dmitri said  
I got up and looked down. There was an inscription that I read aloud. " 'Here lies the Sage of the Water Temple. One day she shall return through another and join with the other sages to once again help the Hero of Time free Hyrule from evil.' So this is where the old sage was buried."  
"Okay, this is getting creepy. People being reincarnated and coming back." Dmitri started towards the roof of the temple. I followed this time seeing this bridge was sturdier.  
"Wow, this is so great." Dmitri said sarcastically "A tree, and a stone. We came all the way out here for this"  
"You make it sound like we walked a million miles"  
"Lazy people tend to do that" he joked  
" 'When the water fills the lake, shoot for the morning light'" I said  
"Huh?"  
"On the stone which is actually a plaque of some sort, that's what it says. It's almost like someone knew the lake would empty" I said  
"Well they must have wrote it a long time ago"  
"Why do you say that?" I asked  
"C'mon my little scholar. Even I know why. It's written in old Hylian. Barely anyone knows it. Most people speak Elvish or modern Hylian nowadays. And the obvious is all the erosion on the plaque. The words are worn"  
"I cant believe I didn't notice that. My guess it was the sage of water"  
"CANNONBALL!!!" Dmitri yelled while I bent over examining the stone.  
Dmitri jumped off and made a huge splash as he plummeted into the pool of water at the bottom near the temple.  
I ran to the edge and stared down at him. He spit water out of his mouth and smiled up at me.  
"C'mon my fishy friend. You know you want to"  
I removed my cloak and shoes and placed them with his things. Then I dove gracefully into the water and came up right next to him. The water felt good. Dmitri and I kept trying to dunk each other until it was too dark to even see each other.  
"Haha. You look like a prune" Dmitri joked  
"Yeah, well maybe you should look in a mirror before you say anything"  
"Your hair looks white in this light. Maybe you should go talk to your boyfriend and get a date"  
"Ew that's just gross" I ran and tackled him  
He quickly got the upper hand though. I was terrible at fighting of any kind and more quickly than I anticipated, Dmitri had me pinned. He was sitting on my stomach and his hands held my wrists to the ground.  
I struggled but he didn't let up  
"I hate you sometimes" I said  
"But deep down you know you love me"  
Dmitri bent down and kissed me on the cheek before he helped me up  
"Sometimes I really don't get you" I said  
All he did was smile then started walking towards the campsite we'd made when we first arrived. I used magic to get my stuff down then dragged them behind me as I followed him. I went into my tent and changed into dry clothes. I packed everything up and slept under the stars. Dmitri did the same  
  
The next morning we headed straight for the fishing hole. I forced Dmitri to get up early, which he was not happy about.  
When we walked in and saw a middle-aged man wearing a stupid looking fishing hat standing behind a wooden counter. There was a fish tank next to him with an enormous fish inside. I hate fish so I turned away while Dmitri marveled at its size. The man himself didn't look much better than the fish in my opinion. He was constantly scratching his armpits and breathed hard through his nose. His mustache was full of little white things and his shirt had stains all over it.  
"Disgusting" I whispered to Dmitri  
"Yeah, but I still want to fish"  
Dmitri walked up to the counter where a smaller tank was where was smaller fish was. "Biggest fish ever caught: 6 lbs."  
"Ah hello there. Admiring my catch" The man said proudly  
"What are you talking about? I've caught bigger fish in the pools in the Lost Woods"  
"Lost Woods, eh? You two some of them faery people?" he asked  
"Do you see a faery?" Dmitri asked  
"We're Hylian" I cut in  
"Elves?"  
"Yeah, anyway, we'd like to fish" Dmitri said  
"10 rupees and you can fish as long as you like"  
Dmitri opened his mouth, no doubt to say something stupid but I covered his mouth before he could get the chance.  
The man gave us fishing poles and we walked around the pond looking for the best spot to fish  
"I wasn't going to say anything bad" Dmitri said baiting my hook for me  
"Sure" I sat down and cast my line. Dmitri sat in my lap "What are you doing?"  
"Santa I want to catch the biggest fish in all the pond"  
"That's great. Geroff! Don't act like a human child who actually believe in Santa."  
After I threw him off a fish caught my reel.  
"Geez, that's a big one" Dmitri said seeing it in the water  
"Yeah? Don't have to tell me. I'm the one holding it"  
I fought to catch the fish for at least half an hour. When I finally got it on land, it was half my size. It wriggled around helplessly. Dmitri got absolutely furious when I felt sorry for the ugly thing and let it go.  
"Saira we could have gotten a prize"  
"I don't care.. Are you ready to leave yet?"  
"Ugh. Yeah I guess. I didn't catch a thing"  
"Bigger fish in the ponds, eh?" I said  
"Shut up"  
We turned in our fishing rods but the man asked us to stay for a minute.  
"I saw that lunker you pulled out. Take this as a reward"  
He handed me a clear bottle with a gold thing inside  
"What is it?" Dmitri asked  
"A golden scale of the Zora's. It will give you the ability to hold you breath longer and allow you to dive deeper in the water without pressure"  
"Cool. It fits a little fish like you Saira"  
"Thank you" I said "So what prize did the person who caught that fish get?" I asked pointing to the large tank on the counter.  
"Oh, him. He came here a lot. He also got a scale. Back then I used to give out prizes to people who only caught fish of 16 pounds or more but now I don't get enough business."  
"What was his name?" I asked  
"Um, oh let me think. Oh yeah. Name wos' Link."  
"Link? Did he have a blue faery and dress in a green tunic?"  
"Yeah, that's him on the button. How you know him?"  
"Link's my brother" I said annoyed since I'd already told plenty of people this.  
"Really? That's neat. Rumor has it he ventured to the Gerudo Desert before he went to the Zora's Domain"  
Finally! I thought. Some good information.  
"Thank you so much"  
I ran out of there before he could stop me. I pulled out my map and saw that the Gerudo Desert was about a day's walk away from where we were. I headed in that direction with Dmitri by my side.  
The Gerudos were a race of women thieves who dwelled in the desert. Only once every 100 years a man is born in the Gerudo race. He is automatically chosen as leader and Ganondorf is the leader now. That's why the Gerudos are the only race immune from his evil crusade to rule the worlds.  
We stopped at nightfall about 3 miles away from the bridge that crosses over to Gerudo Valley. Oh, I should mention that the Gerudos hate all men except for Ganondorf.  
"Saira?"  
"Dmitri"  
"I have a question"  
"Cant it wait? It's late" I was lying on my back trying to sleep despite the hard ground. Dmitri was lying across my legs as he often did  
"I'll make it quick if the Gerudos hate all men, what's going to happen to me?"  
"Good question. I guess we'll find out when we get there"  
"Funny Saira" he said  
"Dmitri I'm sure nothing will happen. Anyway, I'm a girl and if I can convince them you're good, they just might believe me. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from getting killed"  
"Not very comforting. I could still be imprisoned or something"  
But I had fallen asleep. 


	9. Gerudos

Chapter 9  
  
I woke the next morning to Dmitri's loud snores. As payback I ran my finger along his spine to give him a rude wake up. He jumped in the air and yelled angrily at me.  
"Man, I have sand in my pants. 'We're going to the desert next Dmitri' 'Make sure you repel your clothing Dmitri.' Couldn't have done it for me, eh? I'm going to have sand up my butt, you realize?"  
"Whine, whine, whine. You should have done what I told you. Anyway, let's get moving"  
"Saira we haven't eaten in hours. I'm hungry"  
"But -" At that moment my stomach growled loudly  
Dmitri crossed his arms and gave me a satisfied smile. I cooked breakfast for us and then finally we were on our way again. Dmitri complained endlessly about the sad but I just ignored him.  
We reached the Gerudo Bridge that spanned over the gorge where the river flowed at the bottom.  
"Gerudo Valley" I said "Then the Gerudo Fortress is farther along"  
"Great"  
A Gerudo woman stood in front of a gate blocking the opposite side of the bridge. She wore a white vest and white pants that fanned out near the bottom. She had fiery red hair and dark tan skin. Her hair was short and curled under her ears. Her arms were crossed and she held a stern look on her face, which worsened as I approached with Dmitri at my side.  
"Who're you?" she asked  
"I'm Saira and this is Dmitri"  
"A boy?" Without warning she yelled, "Guards!"  
A moment later more women ran up carrying long spears. However they were dressed in purple and were tube tops instead of vests. Their hair was long and pulled in to high ponytails. Purple masks covered most of their face but you could see anger in their eyes.  
"Seize him!"  
I jumped in front of Dmitri as if it was instinct and they stopped with their spears and inch away from my face making me cross-eyed.  
"You cant take him" I said with a trembling voice  
"Why? He is a man and they are filth"  
"That's not true. Dmitri is, uh, he's, he's, he's my boyfriend"  
They were all taken aback. Even Dmitri.  
"Yeah, that's right. And would I, a thief like you, be with a man that was filth? And he's a thief too" I was just saying the first things that popped into my head and hearing it made me fear for Dmitri.  
"You're a thief?" She asked me disbelieving  
"Yeah"  
"Prove it"  
"How?"  
"You see that large man over there. Steal his pouch. Go!"  
However I didn't move. Instead I remembered a levitation spell Link had taught me. I whispered the words and the pouch magically floated perfectly into my hands and the man never even flinched.  
No one said a word. The woman clapped twice and the guards lifted their spears. Then they escorted us to the Gerudo Fortress. Many more women in purple were standing guard and ran up seeing all of us.  
"Where is Nabooru?"  
"She's at the Spirit Temple still. Shall we fetch Nyssa?"  
"No. Find a room for these two"  
One of the guards led us through the fortress and into a small room with one bed and one couch. There was a table too and a bookshelf.  
"Stay here" they commanded  
We heard the door lock and Dmitri, who had been very tense, sighed deeply and fell backward onto the bed  
"It's like attack of the belly dancers" he said  
"Well, you'd be in a cage right now if it wasn't for me"  
"And thanks for that. But what I cant believe is that Miss-Goody-Two- Shoes stole a money bag from someone"  
"I didn't"  
"But I saw you -"  
"Obviously you didn't notice me put it back"  
"Apparently not"  
The door began unlocking and a beautiful Gerudo walked in. She wore a deep red outfit decorated with jewels. A few tattoos could be seen on her arms and stomach.  
"I am Nyssa" she said, "I'm in charge when Nabooru seeks solitude at the great Spirit Temple of our ancestors. Tyra tells me you are a great thief and also that you are 'well-acquainted' with this boy"  
"That's right. Is there a problem with that?" I said  
"It's surprising but then again you Hylians accept men easier than we do. Besides the Great Ganondorf, very few men are accepted in the Gerudo ranks"  
"Hmm" I couldn't help feeling angry at how highly they spoke of Ganondorf when every other place in the world is going to the grave while they flourish.  
"So -"  
"Do not speak unless spoken to," she snapped at Dmitri.  
"He is with me and shouldn't be treated with such disrespect" I said  
"That's right.. love" Dmitri stuttered  
We both turned and stared at Dmitri then he raised his eyebrows at me because we were supposed to pretend we were a couple.  
"Yeah, ok, well there you have it" I said  
"Come, you are to stay here as long as we say"  
"We are prisoners?" I asked  
"For now and since you are I will show you where everything is. Come"  
It was hard to remember how many right and left turns there were to each room. Dmitri got scowls wherever we went. Eventually, Nyssa led us outside  
"The horse archery is up the hill to the left and the entrance to the Haunted Wasteland is to the right down that hill. You are not to go there and you may not leave unless we say you can." She said sternly. "Now, I have matter I must attend to. Take this" she handed me a slip of parchment  
"What is it?"  
"Tyra spoke of your excellent thievery. You are one of us with this"  
Dmitri held out his hand but Nyssa flashed him a look of hatred before departing.  
"Well, now that you're one of them, you should wear one of those sexy belly dancer outfits"  
"There are two chances of that happening: No way and no how"  
"Oh, c'mon, love, you'd look smashing in one of those"  
"Give it up"  
  
Everywhere I went, I was treated with the utmost respect. Dmitri got in the habit of calling me 'love' every time we saw a Gerudo because Nyssa had told me that if she found out I was lying, she would personally throw Dmitri in the dungeon. I got used to it every time he'd wrap his arms around me for show.  
One day after we'd been there for at least a few weeks, we stumbled past the training ground  
"Hello Saira. Try your luck?" The Gerudo woman asked me who was guarding the door.  
'Try my luck at what?"  
"Through this door is the Gerudo Training Ground. It tests our skills at fighting speed and intelligence"  
"Then I would fail miserably at the first one. I have no talent or any ability when it comes to fighting"  
"Really? How do you know?" She asked, "Try one for free. If you get in any trouble, everything will be called off."  
"Go on, love, give it a try" Dmitri urged  
"Well, all right. 10 rupees I don't last 5 minutes?" I said to Dmitri  
"Nah, I think you'll go at least ten so you're on"  
"You would bet on your abilities?" The woman asked shocked  
"Yeah, I can make a little money while I'm getting my arse kicked" I said  
"Alright but Saira, don't cheat. Give it all you got"  
"Don't you trust me" I said batting my eyes  
"Not when it comes to my wallet. I mean, yeah, go on"  
"Alright, here's a sword and shield. You'll need them depending on which door you choose. There will be a chest in the middle containing a key. There will be chests surrounding that one containing things to help you as you go along." She directed  
"Ok, Dmitri, start timing right when I get in the first door"  
"How will I know?" he asked  
"I'll tell him" she offered  
"Tell him when to stop too. Wait, just let her time"  
"But -"  
I looked at him crossing my arms  
"Alright"  
The Gerudo woman opened the door and held it open for me. I walked down a long tunnel until I emerged in a large circular room with 3 stone lion heads above three doors about 30 feet in front of me. There was about 10 feet between each door. As she'd told me, there was a small chest in the middle containing a silver key. I chose the door on the far left and walked in a room with sand as the floor. The exit was across the room but when I reached the center of the room, two things dropped from the ceiling.  
They were Stalfos: Undead creatures. They were warriors once reduced to skeleton form. Tattered armor hung off their bones and their eyes burned with fire.  
I was surrounded. Within a moment, one of them had knocked my sword out of my hand and sent me across the room. I evaded them and ran back to the entrance but the door had locked trapping me in the room. I was forced against the wall as both Stalfos slammed against my shield with their steel swords.  
Suddenly they burst into black flames, and the door opened. I ran our, all the way out, and didn't stop until I ran into Dmitri making us both fall over. I just laid on top of him for a minute panting.  
"Well, love, how was it?" he asked smiling  
"God, I'm never going in there again" I asked almost laughing  
"So, what was the time?" Dmitri asked  
"4 minutes, 57 seconds"  
"Ha! Wait I was only in there for -"  
"5 MINUTES!" Dmitri interrupted, "That means"  
Dmitri shoved me off and helped me up seeing the look on the woman's face  
"That means you, Dmitri Alonde, owe me 10 rupees." I said slyly, "For it over, love"  
Dmitri pulled out two blue rupees worth 5 each and placed them in my outstretched hand.  
"Sorry to interrupt but what happened?" she asked  
"I told you I was a terrible fighter. I can barely hold a sword the right way let alone fight two Stalfos."  
"Saira, come by tonight and I'll teach you"  
"You're wasting your time" Dmitri said standing behind me  
"Why's that?" she asked  
"Because all the best in Kokiri have tried and every last one of them have failed" Dmitri said  
"It's true"  
"Permit me to try"  
"Okay, this has been bugging me. If you tell me your name I'll try. Everyone here seems to know my name -"  
"That's because you are the first to use magic as a thieving maneuver"  
"Really? Well, your name?"  
"Forgive me. My name is Viera. Veer-uh"  
"Cool"  
"If fighting is not your best area, have you tried archery?" she asked  
"Not yet" I smiled 


	10. Prisoners

Chapter 10  
  
About 3 weeks after Viera had told us to try archery, we were finally getting around to it. Viera had failed miserably at trying to teach me and gave up after half an hour.  
Most of the Gerudos had gotten used to Dmitri but there were still many who would rather see him in a cage than out and about.  
We walked up the hill to the archery arena, which we'd forgotten was horseback archery. Another shorthaired Gerudo woman was brushing a magnificent horse. Stables were actually built inside the rock that created a border around the place. Next to the stables was a small open shack. Bows all sizes and styles were hanging on the wall with quivers lined up beneath them.  
The Gerudo stopped brushing the horse and came to greet us.  
"Hello. I am Kala. You would be Saira and Dmitri" she was obviously not one of the Gerudos that hated Dmitri.  
"Right we wanted to try archery not necessarily -"  
"-horseback archery" Dmitri finished  
"Well, no one has to come to ride in a long time so just pick a bow and take a quiver. Try your luck on the targets over there. No charge for that but if you want to try it on horseback, it will be 10 rupees" Kala said  
"Ok"  
We both grabbed a bow and quiver and went to a portion of the track where there were three targets in a row. Dmitri tried his luck first and got a bulls-eye in the first shot.  
"That wasn't too hard" he said  
"For you. Okay" I failed miserably. The arrow didn't even go ten feet  
Dmitri held his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.  
"Alright, hotshot, try doing what you did while keeping a horse steady. I'll even pay to see you fail" I said  
"Sure"  
We went back to Kala and told her Dmitri wanted to try his luck on horseback. I paid her the 10 rupees and she began explaining to Dmitri what to do.  
"You see the track? It's made up of three ways to score points: The three targets on this wall, the pots in front of those and the high targets at either end. The targets vary on points depending on where you hit it, but the pots are worth 100 points for each on you break. If your score is high, you'll get a prize. Got it?"  
"Yeah."  
"Mount a horse. When you hear my whistle, go."  
It took Dmitri 5 minutes before he found a horse that wouldn't buck when he approached it. He was very unsteady on a horse and it was all I could do to stop from laughing at him.  
"Ready?" Kala asked him  
"Y-yeah. I-I guess so."  
Kala whistled loudly and the horse took off. Dmitri attempted to hold on and soot at the same time but he lost his grip and fell flat on his back when he reached the other end of the track.  
I ran to him and he was lying there groaning. I healed him somewhat but he had taken a nasty fall and I wasn't skilled enough to heal him completely. Kala walked up grinning.  
"That was the worst score ever attempted. Where did you learn how to ride?"  
"I never did" Dmitri said sitting up  
"You've never learned? The why did you ride?"  
"Thought I'd try"  
"Help him back. I'll take the horse" I said  
Kala helped the limping Dmitri. At first I led the horse by the reins but then it stopped  
"C'mon" But the horse stayed put. Then it nuzzled me "Oh don't tell me a horse wants me to ride him"  
I walked over and the horse knelt down to let me get on. I kicked him gently and he took off. It was a great feeling to have the wind blow through my hair. It was like I was back at Lon Lon and I was riding Epona.  
I passed by Kala and Dmitri as I cheered going down the track. He reared up but I held on. I waited for them to catch up.  
"You ride quite well" Kala said to me "I know very few who have such control. Was that your first time on a horse?"  
"No, and it wasn't Dmitri's either. He just cant ride"  
"Hey, love, I got an idea. Why don't you ride while I shoot? We'd get the high score for sure. How bout' it?"  
"Kala, can we?"  
"Alright, but you must score over 2000 since you have two people"  
I looked at Dmitri and smiled. I whispered to the horse then helped him up.  
"Ready?" Kala asked again  
"Yeah"  
She whistled  
"Yah!" We took off  
Dmitri hit every pot putting us at 1200 points. The he hit three bulls-eyes on the high target.  
"We only need 500. Can you do it?"  
"I can try." He dropped an arrow "Now I have to. That was my extra"  
"Just shoot!"  
Dmitri shot an arrow at each target and two at the final high one.  
"Hey, I found another arrow"  
He shot one final arrow and nailed it.  
"What'd that put us at?" Dmitri panted falling on me  
"2100 I think. Whoa, horsy"  
"Well, Kala, did we do ok?" I asked  
"I've never seen such skill in 2 young people. You play off each other's strengths to achieve what you need to. It amazing"  
"Yak, yak, yak. What'd we win?' he said  
"For, you, Dmitri, take this. It's one of the finest bows. Not quite Elvish or Faery quality but the best here in Hyrule. And for you Saira, a Gerudo bracelet"  
"Saira! Dmitri!" Nyssa called "Come"  
Dmitri and I exchanged looks before following her back to the Fortress.  
"So, what's the word?" I asked "Can we leave yet?"  
"How long have you been here?" Nyssa asked  
"Let's see. Two -"  
"-Three months." Dmitri said  
"I have orders to keep you here in the actual fortress. You must stay inside at all times unless escorted by one of the guards."  
"Exactly whose orders are these?" I asked  
"That's my business"  
"We're the ones being held. It's our business too." I said  
But Nyssa said nothing as she locked us in our room.  
"What the hell?" Dmitri yelled slamming his fists on the door  
"Calm down"  
"Love, now we really are prisoners. Before we could have easily left but now we're locked in."  
"Dmitri -" But just then I got a sharp pain in my head. It was unbearable. The pain escalated with every second. I fell off the bed but Dmitri caught me before I hit the floor. The pain was so bad now that I began screaming. I fought to keep my eyes open but when they finally shut, a vision appeared.  
Ganondorf was in the castle. It was black and reeked of death and a sense of evil. He was sitting in a large chair in front of a fireplace. Nyssa's head was floating in the fire.  
'We have two elves held in the fortress' she said  
'Who are they?' Ganondorf asked  
'Their names are Saira and Dmitri. They are in search of someone but wont say who'  
'Saira? Is she from the Forest?'  
'I didn't ask'  
Everything stopped. I could barely remember what I'd seen. Dmitri was staring at me oddly. Footsteps could be heard running down the hall towards them. Nyssa unlocked the door and burst in.  
"What is going on?" she demanded  
"Nothing" I said  
"She was having a vi -"  
I elbowed Dmitri. I didn't need a bunch of thieving women knowing I had visions"  
"Having a what?" Nyssa asked  
"Migraine. I get really bad migraines"  
"Migraines?"  
Nyssa bombarded me with questions about that and other things I knew she didn't care about. She asked where we were from and what we were doing out by ourselves. But mostly she wanted to know who I was looking for. That was the one thing I refused to say. 


	11. Ganondorf

Chapter 11  
  
For weeks, it seemed we were locked in that room. There were no windows or different ways out and I was beginning to get cabin fever. I could have picked the lock but I kept telling myself they were going to let us out at any time.  
"How long?" I asked Dmitri everyday since Nyssa had questioned us  
"We've been her 4 and a half months. They've kept us locked in here 6 weeks. Hey, love?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I thought Viera was going to teach you to fight"  
"All the best have tried and failed. Very few have the patience to teach me. I had a dream that I finally learned. I couldn't see who it was but the feeling I had when he was around was.. nice"  
"It'll be your future love. The man of your dreams ill the man who teaches you to fight with him" Dmitri laughed  
"I wouldn't doubt it"  
"I don't know about you but I refuse to spend another week in here. I say we sneak out. I mean, they were stupid enough to leave my bow and quiver in here."  
"One more week then I will go with whatever crazy scheme you come up with"  
Someone knocked on the door. The only person that ever did that was a very kind Gerudo named Raven. Everyday she brought our food and filled us in on what was happening. She felt sorry for us and was also the only one we trusted.  
"Come in" Dmitri yelled. He was now hanging upside-down off the bed.  
Raven unlocked the door and came in carrying a tray of food. She had an odd look on her face  
"Raven, what's wrong?"  
"I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately. For some reason, Ganondorf wants to meet you" she said  
"Why?" Dmitri asked  
"I'm not sure. They say Nabooru has been brainwashed and forced to work for Ganondorf's minions. Nyssa's permanently in charge"  
"Great" Dmitri said, "Any second now, they're going to throw my a-"  
"Dmitri" I interrupted, "Raven do you know when he'll get here?"  
"Who?" Raven was distracted  
"The Great A-"  
"Saira" Dmitri said  
"Ganondorf" I said instead  
"He could arrive anytime this week. He used to be a great man but power and greed have corrupted him"  
"Raven, you have to get us out of here" I said "Ganondorf knows me and chances are wants me dead"  
"Saira, you better start making sense," Raven said  
"Do you or have you ever met a boy named Link?" I asked  
"A long time ago. I was guarding the bridge when he came. I lost my post there because I let him by. Nice kid, for a boy. Why?"  
"If I tell you this, take it to your grave. Understood?"  
"Course"  
"Link is my brother"  
"Ganondorf hates him. Says that Link is the only reason he cannot seize the other worlds." Raven said  
"Yeah, and think about what would happen if Link's little sister was being held hostage" I said  
"That's right. And a good friend too. It's better if Link stays far away" Dmitri added  
"But he wants you. Link was not mentioned. They said he needed you for something" Raven said  
"Saira? What does he want Saira for?" Dmitri asked  
"They didn't say"  
"We gotta leave tonight, love" Dmitri said to me  
We heard footsteps down the hall. Raven left the room and locked it just as a group of guards, led by Nyssa, walked up. Dmitri and I ran to the door and leaned against it so we could hear what they were saying.  
"Get them out. Ganondorf has arrived early" We heard Nyssa say  
"He's here?" Raven said  
"Now!"  
Raven unlocked the door and Dmitri and I fell down  
"Come with me" Nyssa beckoned  
We followed Nyssa down many halls until we entered a huge room I'd never seen before. It was a dining hall. I along table covered in a variety of foods was in the center and sitting at the end drinking a glass of wine was Ganondorf, himself.  
"Please, sit"  
Nyssa pushed us forward and we were forced to sit down. Ganondorf motioned for them to leave and then it was just the three of us.  
"Help yourself"  
Dmitri piled his plate full of food but I sat there with my arms crossed and lips pursed. A fury filled me that I couldn't explain.  
"Not hungry?" he asked  
I didn't answer  
"I remember you. You've become quite a beautiful young girl. How many years ago was that now?"  
Again I sat in silence  
"4 years I believe. So, you are the sister of that meddlesome kid who took the Triforce from me.or part of it"  
I clenched my fists and my nails began to dig into my palms  
"He disappeared once I got inside the Sacred Realm. I've been looking for him ever since. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you? I mean, I promise not to kill him if you tell me"  
Suddenly his glass shattered in his hand and I knew I did it. Instead of being angry though, Ganondorf started laughing even though he was covered in wine and blood from a cut on his hand.  
"Heh, heh, heh. You have much power."  
Dmitri burped really loudly and I looked at him almost annoyed but amused  
"Dmitri is it?" Ganondorf asked, "According to Ingo at Lon Lon, you are my adopted nephew. I must say, I was impressed that a ten year old could outsmart one of my employees. But back to Saira. Nyssa tells me you had a terrible migraine a few weeks ago. She said you were screaming so loud, she heard you all the way across the fortress."  
Dmitri stopped eating and looked at me  
"Saira, have you ever heard of certain special beings called 'seers'?"  
He waited for my response this time and I did  
"Cant say I have?"  
"As far as our history and legends go back there were people chosen by the gods to have 'visions' if you will. Pictures or flashes of the past present and future."  
Again he waited but I had nothing to say  
"I do not remember you being so silent the first time we met"  
"Your point?"  
"People who have visions are prone to horrible headaches. Some have been known to have screaming fits because sometimes the pain of having a vision is unbearable."  
"Are you trying to accuse me of something?"  
"Of course not. I just know things you may not know. Like that your mother was a seer"  
The fact that he mentioned my mother struck a nerve because the room started shaking. The food and dishes started falling off the table and crashing on the ground.  
"Seers are rare in these times. For years they were sought out and killed for their powers"  
"What does that have to do with me?" I asked  
"I'll get to the point before you ruin my hall. I think you're a seer"  
I gave him a sly smile "Yeah, well I think you're -"  
Before I could finish, Dmitri jumped up and covered my mouth. A picture of Ganondorf on the wall fell down and into the fireplace below it. Ganondorf saw this and it pissed him off something awful because he threw the wine bottle across the room and ordered us out. Raven took us back to the room but couldn't stay.  
"Love, what is your malfunction?" Dmitri scolded  
"Nothing"  
"You could have gotten us killed. I know you hate him but getting yourself killed isn't going to help Link" he said very serious  
"I'm sorry"  
"He knows something about you. Zelda did too"  
"Tonight" That wasn't the answer Dmitri was expecting  
"Tonight? What?"  
"We're leaving tonight" I said  
"What? What do you mean? How?"  
Before I could answer, the door swung open. Nyssa stood there  
"Seize him!"  
"What?!" I yelled.  
Two guards grabbed Dmitri and began dragging him out. I tried to run to him but another guard held my arms.  
"What are you doing? He has done nothing!" I yelled  
"Ganondorf does not wish us to accommodate him any longer" Nyssa said coolly  
They threw me back in the room and locked it. I could hear Dmitri struggling through the door  
"Saira! Help!" I heard  
"Dmitri!"  
When I could no longer hear anyone in the hall, I picked the lock to my door and began making my way through the corridors. Lucky for me I had many ways to stop the guards. Plus I borrowed Deku nuts from Dmitri that stun people.  
Dmitri must have known I was going to come for him because he was yelling at the top of his lungs. I climbed higher and higher up the stairs until I found myself in an open area with a bunch of crates. There was a hole in the middle and down in the bottom was my friend.  
I whistled to him and he looked up.  
"I knew you'd come for me" he said  
""C'mon. Someone will figure out I'm gone soon."  
I lowered a rope down to him and tried to pull him up but in the end he had to climb himself. When he reached the top, I gave him his stuff.  
"Ok, how are we supposed to get out of here?" he asked  
"Um"  
"Wait, give me that rope. We'll tie it off and climb down. Quickly"  
We got down to the bottom and hid until the guards changed their posts. Our plan was to head back to Gerudo Valley but there were too many guards standing in the way.  
"Where do we go now?" he asked  
I looked around and saw the gateway to the desert  
"C'mon" I said  
I ran to the gate but neither of us could fit through.  
"We have to climb over"  
I heard Ganondorf yelling back at the fortress. When Dmitri and I made it to the top of the gate, he came running out. Archers were shooting at Dmitri and me.  
"No, I want her alive!"  
They stopped shooting giving us enough time to climb back down with fear of getting killed.  
"Dmitri, give me your pocket knife" I said  
He threw it to me and I started cutting the ropes that lifted the gate. Ganondorf got to the gate and stared angrily at me while he pounded on the gate.  
"C'mon love" Dmitri urged  
"Get this gate up!"  
I stood just enough away from the gate so Ganondorf couldn't reach  
"I find you again, I will kill you!" Ganondorf threatened  
"If you can find me" I smiled and ran after Dmitri. 


	12. Great Faery

Chapter 12  
  
We lost Ganondorf in a whirlwind of sand. We reached a river of quicksand and couldn't get around it, and there was no bridge. There was a sign written in Hylian that I read aloud.  
"To cross the desert you must overcome two trials. First is the river of sand"  
"But how do we get across?" Dmitri asked  
There were two boxes next to us and there was a flag across the river giving me an idea  
"I have an idea. If we can throw the boxes in the river and jump on them before they sink, then we should be close enough to throw a rope over that flag"  
"Okay"  
"Get the rope ready, then we'll throw the boxes," I said  
"Wait, who's going first. We can't both fit on the boxes"  
"I'll go first because I'm lighter"  
"But if it sinks will you be able to pull me up?" Dmitri asked  
"Don't worry about it." I said, "Okay, rope ready"  
Dmitri threw the box far enough to where I could still jump on it. I threw the rope and got it around the flag. I pulled myself to the other side. Dmitri jumped on the box and I threw him the rope, and helped get him on the sand that didn't sink.  
"Ok, now what?" Dmitri asked shaking sand out of his hair  
"We follow the flags"  
Flags were posted every 10 feet or so and we followed them until we reached a brick building. We walked in and all that was in there were two torches and a couple of pots. Dmitri and I made camp in there  
"That was close" he said  
"I still want to know why I'm so important because my visions can't be everything"  
"It scares me when you have one. Your eyes turn white and --" Dmitri started  
"It scares me more"  
"So how do we get out of here? That gate was the only way in or out of the desert"  
'Not necessarily" I said dumping sand out of my shoes  
"Explain"  
"Have you ever heard rumors of the Great Faeries?"  
"Some of what Saria told me" Dmitri said  
"She should be able to help us"  
  
The next morning the sand storm had not subsided. I felt like I would be covered with sand forever. However when we tried to get to the Spirit Temple across the Haunted Wasteland, we kept coming back to the brick building. However, every time we came back and I heard something hovering on the roof.  
"Let's o on the roof and see what's up there. There's a ramp that leads up there. C'mon"  
"Love, I got sand in my ears, what did you say?"  
I motioned for him to follow me  
We got to the roof and there was a plaque that read "Only with the 'eye of truth' or an open mind can you cross the wasteland with a guide from beyond"  
I heard something around us but I wasn't sure what it was. The sound began moving away and I followed it  
"Dmitri, c'mon"  
I followed the sound for at least 20 minutes until we reached the Spirit Temple. I was betting anything that it was a ghost. Usually some of them can only be seen with the lens of truth, but exceptional senses can do it too.  
"Love, I'm confused. How the hell did you get us here?"  
"With an open mind and unnaturally good senses. I followed something. Listen. very carefully"  
Dmitri closed his eyes and listened. I heard a cackling sound and a Poe appeared which is just another term for ghost.  
"Holy-"  
"Dmitri, shh. It's just a Poe"  
The Poe bowed and disappeared  
"I think the second trial was to get through the desert by following the Poe. Wow, look at that"  
"Now, that's good architecture" Dmitri said  
The Spirit Temple was engineered by the Gerudo women and built right into the rock.. It was an image of the goddess they worshipped. She sat with her legs crossed and a diamond in her forehead, which very few Gerudos had. An oasis was to the left and we went over to get a drink.  
"So where is this faery?" Dmitri asked  
"I don't want to go just yet"  
"Why?"  
"I wanna see the temple"  
"Let's go now cus we don't know when Ganondorf could show up"  
But I ignored Dmitri. We walked up the stairs to the temple and went inside. There was another small set of stairs when we were inside and two statues on either side. They were Pythons with their necks outward so an inscription could be seen  
"Read it" Dmitri said  
"Something wrong with your eyes?"  
"No, but your Hylian is better an I think its in a dialect anyway"  
"Ok, the left statue says: "If you want to proceed to the past, you should return here with the pure heart of a child"  
"And the other?"  
"'If you want to travel to the future you should return here with the power of silver from the past'"  
"That doesn't make any sense" Dmitri said  
"In other words you must have the heart of a child to travel through a part of the temple and you must return as an adult to venture the rest"  
"Who is the message for?"  
"Huh?"  
"Well, its not for everyone" Dmitri said  
"I think --" A flash of Link entered my mind, "it's Link"  
"Link? Why?"  
"A feeling"  
Right then I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me it was time to leave.  
"Let's see what else is in here?" Dmitri said starting to go up the other set of stairs.  
"No, we need to go. Now!"  
I ran outside and Dmitri followed  
"Look around. We've got to find the faery"  
"Over there. A crack in the rock" Dmitri yelled  
We ran over to the crack. I pounded on it but nothing happened.  
"We're gonna need a bomb to get through that" Dmitri said  
"A bomb?" I said getting an idea  
"Yeah"  
"I know just the thing"  
I pulled vials of ingredients I used in my potions and mixed certain ones together and shook it furiously. This would cause an explosive reaction when released. Dmitri scratched his head.  
"Back up"  
I got behind a big rock and threw the bottle at the wall. It made a huge explosion and sent chunks of rocks in all directions.  
"I thought that old geezer taught you healing potions" Dmitri said  
"I made a few mistakes along the way. C'mon"  
"That was cool"  
We went inside the hole I made in the wall and just in time too because Ganondorf entered the vicinity.  
"Love, pull out another one of those bomb things and get rid of him" Dmitri said frantically  
"I only got enough for one.. I'll seal it up again" I said  
"What?" he cried  
"Well, I don't want to kill anyone even if it is Ganondorf!" I screamed throwing another bottle at the ceiling causing it to cave in.  
Soon the entrance was completely sealed. It should have been pitch black but light was coming from behind us. We ventured down a dirt path that became a beautiful white, marble walkway that seemed to glow, as we got closer. We reached a square room and the walls flowed with colored water. A hexagonal pool was on the far wall surrounded by more marble. Two small steps led to the edge but on the top step the Triforce symbol was embedded in gold. Two torches with green flame were on either side lighting the area.  
"Wow" I whispered  
I could hear Ganondorf and the Gerudos trying to get in  
"We better hurry." Dmitri said, "It won't take him long"  
"Yeah, right"  
"So, how are we supposed to summon the faery?" he asked  
"What's the universal language?" I asked slyly  
"Elvish?" he said stupidly  
"No, music. That's the crest of the, well now former, royal family is it not?"  
"Yeah but I don't know the song" Dmitri said  
"I do"  
"You have too much in your head. Is there any chance you don't know something?"  
"I don't know a lot"  
I played the song of the Royal Family and suddenly the water began to ripple and high-pitched laughter filled the air. A beautiful faery emerged from the water. Her hair was long and pink, and her skin was light and pale. She gave off a light glow as she sat floating in mid-air.  
"If I am not mistaken, you are Sairalinde Trinity, sister of Link Trinity. And you friend is Dmitri Alonde, son of Vienne and Stuart Alonde. What brings thee to my dwelling?"  
"Ganondorf is trying to kill us so we gotta get out of here?"  
"Fear not, for he cannot enter here"  
"That may be but there's only one way out and that equals death" I said  
"Step into the pool. When you are in the center, you will sink."  
Dmitri and I stepped back.  
"It will take you away and transport you to the castle. Or near it."  
"Why are you helping us?" I asked  
"You have much to fulfill Sairalinde. That's all you need to know."  
Dmitri looked and me. I smiled weakly, and then we slowly stepped in the center. As we began sinking, I threw my arms around Dmitri, scared it might not work and we would sink to our death. The moment our heads were under the water, blinding white light engulfed us. When I could see again, we were standing in front of the castle drawbridge, completely dry and away from Ganondorf. 


	13. Earth

Chapter 13  
  
"YEAH!!!" Dmitri yelled  
I hugged Dmitri and we jumped up and down happy as ever that we'd got away. We stopped and I pulled him in and kissed him before I backed away and started cheering again. Dmitri stood stunned while I danced around him.  
I sat down then lie down. Dmitri lied down next to me. I was overwhelmed with happiness about escaping Ganondorf but then again, now he would be coming after me. I also was curious as to why he needed me so much. Link was the hero of time. I just had visions.  
"So, where to now?" Dmitri asked, "I mean, how long have we been traveling together?"  
"Um, lets see. We didn't stay but a few days at Lon Lon. About a 3 months at Hylia and too many months in a desert. I'm dying for a good swim that doesn't transport me across Hyrule"  
I began to get dizzy and my vision blurred. I closed my eyes but when I opened them, I wasn't lying next to Dmitri anymore. I was in a beautiful place. The walls shone blue and looked like water falling down but there was no sound to be heard. I stood on a platform like the one I'd seen in front of the Forest Temple and at Lake Hylia. However, there was no symbol within the Triforce. The platform was on high ground for if you looked off the edge it seemed never ending. Around the platform I stood on were six other ones at each point of the hexagon one I was on. Each was a different color and had a unique symbol different from the others.  
Suddenly I was forced back to reality. Dmitri was still talking as if nothing had happened.  
"Sairalinde"  
I still had my eyes closed so I assumed it was Dmitri who called my name  
"Dmitri, you know I hate it when you call me that"  
"It wasn't --"  
"Alatariel"  
That did it. I hated being called by my most formal name. 'Alatariel' was my true Elvish name that I allowed no one to call me and besides, no one was supposed to know it. However I knew Dmitri wouldn't dare call me by it so I knew it wasn't him this time. I opened my eyes and tilted my head backward so I was staring at Zelda, aka Sheik, standing upside down, or from my point of view at least.  
"Oh, thank the gods you're safe" she said. Obviously she had been testing it was really me.  
"Safe? Yeah, Ganondorf had no reason to harm me until I pissed him off." I said  
"If you had been lost --"  
"They had no reason to kill her" Dmitri interrupted, "If they wanted Link, she needed to be alive"  
"Ganondorf doesn't know much about your destiny, which is good for now"  
"My destiny?" I said in surprise  
"I need both of you to go stay at Zora's Domain. King Zora will keep an eye on you"  
"Keep an eye on me?" I protested, "Did you not just see how we managed to get away from the great Ganondork himself?"  
"I saw you, but you got lucky. The Great Faery of Magic did not have to help you" Zelda said  
"But --" I rose to my feet  
"No!" Zelda said firmly, but I wanted my say. Princess or not.  
"My brother is missing. For nearly 3 years I have waited patiently. It was agonizing and I will not be made to wait again. I was a prisoner for nearly 6 months. 6 MONTHS! By now I could have found him"  
"How old are you?" Zelda said abruptly  
"What?"  
"How old are you?"  
"Nearly 11"  
"I am naught 4 years older but I have been searching for Link ever since that fateful day. You remember it well, don't you, Saira? You saw it"  
"And the fact that I saw it makes me even more wanting to find him" I said angrily.  
"I will not force you to go but I will ask that you do" Zelda said calmly, "I have my reasons but you are too young to know"  
Zelda threw something on the ground blinding Dmitri and me with light forcing me to shield my eyes. When it faded, Zelda was nowhere to be seen.  
"Just because she used to be royalty doesn't mean she can boss me around," I said sitting back down  
"I still say she's hiding something from you" Dmitri said staring at the spot where Zelda had been standing  
"I know she is. We'll camp her tonight and leave for Zora's Domain in the morning" I said pulling out my sleeping bag.  
"Love, are you alright?"  
"I'm fine," I said flatly  
"Don't lie to me," Dmitri said, "I've known you too long"  
"It's just." I paused for a minutes before continuing extremely fast "It's just that everyone thinks I'm too young to know anything. And they'll keep saying it until they say I should have known when I'm this age. And they never tell you the full story. They always leave something out that is important but they don't want to tell you because they're afraid you cant handle it"  
I continued to ramble until Dmitri covered my mouth  
"I've never known you to give up on anything. You poured over books for weeks trying to learn about Link's destiny. Just do it again and --" Dmitri stopped. There was a look of shock and curiosity on his face. He removed his hand and turned me around.  
It was amazing. The world in front of us looked as if it was coming together. I closed my eyes and rubbed them making sure I wasn't having another vision, but I wasn't. Everything continued to swirl together until and opening appeared.  
"What is it?" Dmitri asked mischievously  
"Saria said portals appear that take you to the other worlds"  
"Other worlds? You mean away from Hyrule?" That lit a fire in Dmitri's head as he walked towards it  
"Dmitri dont. You don't know where it goes"  
"That's what makes it fun" he said  
Dmitri touched it and he was sucked in  
"DMITRI!" I screamed. I grabbed my bad and ran into it just as it began to fade. I felt like I was going down wet slide really fast. Light was all around me. I finally landed hard on the ground shooting pain through my body.  
I stood up rubbing my back and butt as I looked around. Dmitri was staggering towards me.  
"What a rush"  
But I wasn't listening. We were in a alley behind an enormous building that was at least 100 feet tall.  
"Where are we?" I asked quietly  
"How should I know.. whoa. Love, look!" Dmitri said as he peered around the corner of the building, wide-eyed.  
I walked over to where he was standing and gasped. The buildings were nothing of that in Hyrule. They seemed to span to the heavens. Odd round things on sticks lit cement roads. People walked the streets in strange clothing.  
Dmitri and I started crossing the street when an enormous 'thing' made an awful sound and swerved around us. I jumped on Dmitri and he carried me over to the edge. We rested up again another building. Dmitri sat down and held me in his lap.  
"I-know-where-we-are-now" I panted  
"Where?" he breathed  
"Earth. But judging by everything around us, the non-magic part"  
A few people walked by and dropped an odd form of money at our feet. A man came out of the building we were leaning against. He had a hard look about him but spoke gently.  
"You from outta town?" He asked smiling at us. The man spoke English so Dmitri and I switched to it  
"You could say that" I said  
"I was watchin' you from inside. Don't you know to look before you cross the street? You nearly got hit by that car."  
"Car?" Dmitri asked  
"What, you never seen a car before?"  
"We are from really far out of town," I said  
"Well, you might wanna find a place to stay. Where are your parents?"  
"Um, they're, um, we got, um" Dmitri tried to think of something  
"Why don't I take you to the hotel around the corner. You can stay there for the night. You need money?"  
"We've got rupees," I said  
"Rupees? Where you two from cus' I never heard o' rupees before?" the man said  
"Hyrule" Dmitri answered  
"These are rupees" I said pulling out a handful of the colored jewels we used as money in Hyrule.  
The old man stared at the rupees in my hand. He put on his glasses and stared even closer.  
"May I?" he asked  
I handed him a green rupee since it was of the lowest value  
"Do you realize what this is?" he stammered  
"A green rupee" I said flatly  
"This is an emerald. It's worth at least 300 pounds. Our money. You've got almost 2,500 pounds in your hand" he said  
"This isn't even all our money," I said  
"I won this pawn shop. I'll give you money for these and you can use the money to get a room at the hotel"  
"S-sure"  
We went inside the man's shop and traded. There were weird looking things all over the shelves. After we got the money, the old man took us to another huge building with windows all over it. Men and women alike were dressed in odd uniforms pushing carts of luggage. The old man left us at the door  
"Thank you, um" I didn't know the man's name  
"Jack" he said, "Name's Jack. Now you two take are. London can be a tough town"  
"Thanks, mate" Dmitri said  
Jack walked off and Dmitri and I walked inside  
"I'm guessing English is the predominant language so don't speak Elvish," I said  
"Okay"  
I walked to a counter where it said 'Check In' above it. I was fairly short so I had to stand on my tiptoes in order to see over. There was a tall blonde woman wearing a red uniform like the men. She had a pensive look on her face no less because of my appearance but she greeted me nonetheless.  
"Hello, how can I help you? Are you looking for your parents?"  
"Um, no" I was just aware that she had an odd accent, "We need a place to stay"  
"All right" the woman seemed to be holding back laughter. "Would you like a one or two bedroom?"  
I looked at Dmitri then said, "Two" I pulled out my money.  
The woman looked shocked  
"Would you like a suite instead?" she asked  
"Suite?" I asked  
"The suites are our nicer rooms. Would you like to see it before you make a decision?"  
Dmitri stepped up, "Yes"  
The woman summoned a man over and told him to take us up to one of the free suites. He led us in front of two large metal doors. People were coming in and out of similar doors on either side. The man pushed a button and the doors opened. We stepped inside and the doors slid shut behind us. He pushed another button on the wall with the number 15 on it. Suddenly we began moving.  
"What's happening?" I said grabbing Dmitri  
"Love, calm down" he said noticing the look on the man's face  
The doors opened but it led to a different place then where we had originally come in. There was a long hall with white doors with gold numbers on them. We followed the man down the hall to a room at the end with double doors. He pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket and opened the doors.  
I gasped. It looked like the castle, or how I pictured it should be. There was beautiful furniture facing a black box. There was no real kitchen but there was a counter with glasses and a small box with an assortment of bagged foods. He led us to the bedroom where two gigantic beds lie. One had a canopy above it. The bathroom was gorgeous. Or to me anyway. Everything was marble and glass. I had never seen such fancy things in all my life.  
"We'll take it" Dmitri and I said at once  
"I'll tell them downstairs then"  
We went back to the doors. However the man wouldn't leave. He stood in the doorway and held his hand out  
"Thanks, mate" Dmitri said shaking his hand  
"Right. Well, if you need anything just dial '0' on the telephone"  
"Telephone?" Dmitri asked  
"Yes, the thing on the table next to the television." He said  
"Television?" I asked  
"The big black thing. To turn it on, use the remote on top."  
The man left rather quickly than was necessary. Dmitri and I marveled for a while at out luck. I'd never seen such a magnificent place before. I walked out onto the balcony and gasped again. We were near the top of the building. Dmitri came to see and he was afraid to stop outside. I backed inside and closed the door and curtain.  
"Can you believe it?" he said  
"For non-magic folk, they've got some neat stuff" I said trying to figure out how the 'television' worked. I pressed a red button on the remote and a picture appeared. It was moving and it scared me so much I fell backwards.  
"Amazing" I said. I tapped the screen but it was glass. I accidentally sped on the remote and the picture changed. Dmitri came into the room and was so surprised he dropped the pile of magazines he was holding  
"What the --"  
"What do you got?" I asked  
"Magazines and books about the hotel. You read better English than I do so I thought you might want to take a look" He handed me the stack and I started reading them.  
"Hey, they have a swimming pool. Oh, and 'room service'"  
"What's that?"  
"Pretty much, if we need something, we call down with the telephone and they bring it to us"  
"Well call down and get us some food" he said, "I'm starving"  
"Alright. Hand me the telephone. The picture shows the woman holding that part to her head"  
I learned quickly how everything worked because we made the maid stay and show us how to use everything. I also found out why everyone was giving us odd looks. Apparently having pointed ears wasn't very common and because, according to her, we were dressed as if we lived in medieval times.  
"Okay, so can we watch.movies?" I asked  
"Yes' she laughed, "There's a list of movies you can watch in the magazine on page 32"  
Dmitri was stuffing his face with food while I bombarded the maid, Danielle, with questions  
"So where are your parents?" she asked  
"We're not here with our parents," I said  
"They let you come to London by yourselves?"  
"Not exactly, Dmitri's parents live in Kakariko Village and my parents are. um.. not here anymore." I said putting on a fake smile  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. So, um, where are you from?"  
"Ko-eye-ee" Dmitri said with his mouth full of food  
"Huh?'  
"Kokiri" I said clearly  
"Where is that?"  
"Hy-ool" Dmitri tried again  
"Dmitri, swallow before you speak. We're from Hyrule. It's really far away"  
"So, does everyone there have, um, ears like yours?" she asked  
"Not everyone. Only the elves" I said casually  
"Elves" she said surprised, "You two are elves?"  
"Oh, I forgot about non-magic people. Sorry"  
"Okay, well I better get back to work. Now, if you want to watch a movie, look in the magazine and there should be a number next to the title. Put that number in the remote and press 'enter.' Call down if you need anything else"  
"Thanks" I said before she left. "Can you believe this? I feel like a princess" I switched back to Elvish and Dmitri as well.  
"Well, you sure don't look like one" he said playing with the television again.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said angrily  
"It means your clothes are dirty. Your hair is grimy and if you don't take a bath now, I'm going to"  
"Hmph." I said grabbing my bag and going into the bathroom. I took a long hot bath and made sure three wasn't a speck of dirt on me. I drained the tub and wrapped a towel around me. I threw my clothes in the basket where the maid picks it up and gets them cleaned  
I walked out of the bathroom to get my clothes and was greeted by Dmitri whistling at me  
"Shut up" I said  
I grabbed my clothes and went behind the dressing screen to change. I could hear Dmitri taking a shower so I walked into the living room and waited reading a magazine. I looked at the list of movies and chose one called, 'The Fifth Element'  
Ten minutes later, Dmitri walked out of the shower and sat down next to me wearing a robe. I looked and him and couldn't remove the look of shock before he saw me. His hair was bright royal blue now.  
"What possessed you to --" But I couldn't get the words out before I burst into laughter  
"Fine" he said waving his hand and changing it partially back.  
"Oh, c'mere. I waved my hand over his hair and changed it back to the dark black it was originally.  
"Saira, I've never know anyone with such talent for magic. You take to everything so quick" he started, "Very few Hylian elves can change appearances so easily at the age of 10"  
"Thank you. Oh, movie's starting"  
That night was one of the best we'd had in a long time. Even though I was enjoying myself, I still kept thinking I'd never find Link now that we were stuck in Earth with no way back. 


	14. Zora's Domain

Chapter 14  
  
Dmitri and I had fallen asleep on the couch during our third movie that night. We called for breakfast and ate pancakes. Later on we went back to the alley to see if the portal had come back, but it hadn't.  
"So what are we going to do now?" Dmitri said  
"Well, if we're going to be stuck here, we might as well have a look around. The street down that way had some cool shops."  
"Good, I can buy you a birthday present"  
"Your birthday comes first. And don't buy me anything. There's nothing I want." Saira said  
They walked down the streets and found them full of all sorts of interesting things. All the clothes were quite different from what they were used to but Saira liked them.  
"Love, why don't you try on a few? I mean we got the money"  
"We need to save our money. Something may come up"  
"Saira, what could possibly come up? Anyway, we're elves. If we need anything we have magic for a reason."  
"We shouldn't need to use our magic in front of them and I doubt it would go over to well. I read something about Witch trials where they burned people."  
"Just go try on the clothes."  
I walked out of many shops carrying bags of stuff from clothes and jewelry to many odd gadgets I found interesting. I bought Dmitri a sketchbook and something called a 'camera' that took pictures. We had a lot of fun with it until we couldn't figure out how the pictures came out. Luckily we found some nice people who told us how it worked. In the end I decided to use magic though.  
For days we repeated the same things. We learned a lot about the people in London, and found they weren't so bad. We were often asked why our parents weren't around but we came up with new excuses every time. I discovered our hotel had a swimming pool and swam every night while Dmitri laid in the chairs next the pool watching me. One time I actually convinced him to swim with me.  
"Isn't this great?" I said  
"Any water amazes you" he said floating around  
I dove in gracefully. Dmitri got out and did a cannonball driving off a few guests. We swam for hours until we were both so tired we could barely move.  
"I think its time to head back" he said dragging himself out of the pool  
"Yeah"  
We started walking towards the stairs when I got a twinge of pain in my head and had to stop for a moment. Within seconds it became an immense pain and I let out a scream. I fought to keep my eyes open while I staggered out of the pool. The pain worsened with each step I took and I finally had to stop completely. Screams erupted from my mouth as a vision took over but the only thing I could remember is passing out.  
I woke up to the sounds of beeping. I opened my eyes and I was lying in a bed with white sheets and blue walls. There were weird instruments around my bed. I rubbed my face and noticed something taped to my hand. A needle was in my hand connected to bag of clear liquid.  
I used magic to remove it painlessly. Dmitri was snoring in a chair beside my bed. I sat up and looked around. A plump woman came in wearing a blue outfit and holding a clipboard.  
She noticed I was awake and said, "Ah, how are we feeling?"  
"Who are you?" I said rudely, "and where am I?"  
"I'm nurse Karen and you're at the hospital. So, uh what happened to your I.V.?"  
"What happened?"  
"Apparently you went into a screaming fit at the hotel. You had passed out but you didn't stop screaming. You've been here for 3 days"  
"Three days! I've got to get out of here" I attempted to sit up but she pushed me back down.  
"Wait, I need you to answer a few questions before you go anywhere"  
"Fine, but hurry"  
"Well we tried to get information from your friend but he seemed unable to talk. Anyway, what's your name"  
"Saira" I answered  
"Your full name please"  
"Sairalinde Trinity"  
"How do you spell that?"  
"S-a-i-r-a-l-i-n-d-e"  
"You don't have a middle name?" she asked  
"No"  
"How old are you?"  
"Almost 11"  
"Where are you from?"  
"Kokiri Forest in Hyrule"  
"Don't play games"  
"I'm not!" I was growing more irritated by the minute  
"Fine, where are your parents and what are their names?"  
"My parents are dead and I don't know their names!"  
"Your parents are dead? Then who are you here with?" she asked  
"Dmitri right there"  
"Where are his parents?"  
"Back in Hyrule. They don't know we're here"  
"You're alone? This is outrageous"  
She left the room and began speaking with a man in a long white coat outside the door.  
"Both of them are alone and I think the girl is a little off. I've requested a psych- evaluation and I'm calling social services" the nurse said  
"Did you get the test results back?" the man in the white coat said  
"Yes. There were quite odd"  
"Dmitri" I hissed  
He woke with a start. "Saira, oh, you're alright"  
"Yeah, now let's get out of here" I said, "C'mere, I'll change our appearance so they wont recognize us."  
I waved my hands in front o Dmitri and his hair turned bright blonde and his face completely changed. His clothes were something he would never wear otherwise and I was proud, but worried because changing someone's entire appearance was hard and I wasn't sure if I would be able to do mine. With all my strength I changed myself with black hair and a different face and clothes but I kept my eyes the same. I was weaker but I could still walk fine.  
"If there's one magic I know how to do and do well its this" I said "C'mon"  
In our disguises, we were able to walk out of the hospital without any confrontation. I saw the nurse go back into my room then call for security. Dmitri and I ran out laughing. As we walked back to our hotel, our disguises began to fade away. When we entered our room, we found Zelda standing there.  
"Come, we must leave no" she said, "Gather your things"  
"Bloody hell. When did you get here?" I asked  
"The time to answer questions is for later. Come"  
Zelda led us out and down he hall to the elevator. We stepped inside and Zelda pressed the number 10 button and we began to move. However when we reached ten she pressed the button that read 'emergency stop.' Light filled the small room and we reappeared in the middle of Hyrule Field.  
"What in the name of Nayru were you doing in Earth?" she scolded  
"It was an accident" I yelled back  
"You could have been stuck to there"  
"Don't you think we know that" Dmitri said  
"Go to Zora's Domain. Stay away from any portals that may appear. Do you understand me?!"  
"Fine"  
I grabbed my bag and started walking. Dmitri followed a few feet behind me. I was furious but I wasn't sure why. Zelda had got me back to Hyrule and that's what I wanted to do.  
It took us several days to get to Zora's Domain because I didn't feel like traveling very far each day. I knew we were close when we reached Zora's River. We followed it upstream for an entire day before we reached the entrance to the domain.  
"Okay. There's the only entrance that's not frozen, but how do we get in?" Dmitri asked  
"There's usually always instructions. Ah, look" I found an inscription in the stone on the ground. "We need to play the Song of the Royal Family to gain entry"  
"Does that mean it will make a gap in the stupid waterfall so we can jump through?"  
"I dunno. I guess we'll find out"  
But it didn't. We were able to get through but we got drenched in the process. We entered practically a paradise to me anyway. Everything was water besides a few elevated paths here and there. The walls seemed to shine wherever you looked. However there was a chill in the air that was difficult to ignore.  
In the water, I could see the Zora people. They looked like fish but with arms and legs. Fins were attached to their arms and their feet were webbed. Their skin was white with blue and turquoise in different places.  
I followed to the path before us and it led us straight to the throne room where King Zora was sitting. To me he looked like a giant sleeping frog since he was fat for a Zora. I walked onto a platform to address him in a respectful manner.  
"Your majesty?"  
He woke. I bowed and kneeled  
"Who goes there?"  
"I am Sairalinde Trinity. I've been sent by Prin-um, Sheik"  
"Ah he told me you might be coming. Hmm, your looks resemble someone I know"  
"You have met my brother, Link"  
"A fine young elf too. Saved my daughter, Ruto. She'll want to meet you." He said, "Ruto!"  
A young Zora came from a hall to the left. I bowed.  
"Yes, father?" she said  
"This is Link's sister"  
"Really?"  
"I'm Saira"  
"Didn't know he had a sister"  
"Not many do" I said flatly  
"Ruto, please find them a place to stay. Shiek said they would be here for awhile"  
I wanted to protest but I knew it wouldn't do any good. Ruto took us to a room behind their shop.  
"Are you really Link's sister?" she asked me  
"Yes, I've been searching for him"  
"Link was the bravest man I ever met. And my fiancée'"  
Dmitri suddenly started coughing but I knew he was holding back laughs.  
"Your fiancée?" I asked trying hard to keep a straight face  
"Yes, I could only give Zora's Sapphire to my future husband"  
"Hmm. This is sure a surprise" I said  
"I'm surprised too. I thought you would know being his sister"  
"Unfortunately, Link disappeared before I learned any of this. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to him, would you?"  
"All he said was that since he had all of the stones, he must go to the Temple of Time and save Hyrule. He didn't do a good job though. My father wishes to deny it but the water of Hyrule has grown cold"  
"Cold?"  
"Yes with each day that Ganondorf reins, the water chills. Lord Jabu- Jabu feels it. I found ice in the lake where he dwells and the tunnel to Lake Hylia is completely frozen with ice that won't melt"  
"We know. And the lake has very little water now" I said 


	15. Explanation

Chapter 15  
  
The next morning, Dmitri and I both woke up to the sound of boxes being moved. Our room was behind the shop and the owner was putting up new merchandise. We decided to explore a little bit. I was used to having the sun tell me what time of the day it was but Zora's Domain is inside and I had no knowledge of time. It could have been 3:00 in the morning for all I knew. The Zoras were overall nice and respectful toward us. They thought elves were interesting but at the same time very confusing. Since we are immortal, many of them thought we were 100 or more and just hadn't matured. I learned not to despair when my clothes became wet because it was inevitable being around so much water.  
"Saira?" Dmitri asked me as we walked around,  
"What Dmitri?"  
"We've been here for nearly a month. How long do you plan on staying here?"  
"I plan on leaving tomorrow. No one here knows what happened to Link."  
"Good. I mean this place is cool and all but it's kinda creepy. I mean they're walking fish practically."  
I laughed.  
  
Saira packed her things that night. It was a good thing she had a magic bag because of all the stuff she's gotten on her journey so far. They decided to leave while everyone was asleep in case Sheik told them to keep them from leaving.  
"C'mon" Saira said as they started towards the entrance.  
"Okay. I don't see anyone"  
Saira tried to walk out but it was like walking into a glass door. Dmitri caught me as I fell backward.  
"What the bloody hell happened, love?"  
"I don't know."  
I walked up to the entrance and touched it with my finger. As if I was back in Kokiri, it shocked my finger and light spanned from where I touched. I ran to the throne room where Ruto was.  
"Ruto, can I talk to you?" I said  
She came down from her seat and walked up to me.  
"What is it, Saira?"  
"Why can't I leave?" I asked  
"What do you mean?" she asked confused  
"I can't leave. I got shocked when I tried to. Did Sheik do something?"  
Ruto couldn't answer. Later on that night she learned from her father that Sheik performed a spell to keep me in Zora's Domain.  
King Zora had been right; Dmitri and I stayed in Zora's Domain for a long time. I felt like a prisoner again except no sand. I felt useless as the days passed. My anger grew and only Dmitri could help.  
Ruto and I became good friends. She taught me all about the Zora culture and even gave me a silver scale of their people. I didn't have the heart to tell her I already had a golden scale. I also spent much of my time pouring over books trying to learn any clues as to why Ganondorf spared me. Dmitri also helped me look for a spell that might be able to break the spell and let me leave.  
Ruto had granted me access to the lake where Lord Jabu-Jabu was. It was a peaceful place and I often went there to relax.  
We'd been there for nearly 3 years now and I was approaching my 14th birthday.  
One night when it was really late, I couldn't sleep so I went to see Lord Jabu-Jabu. Dmitri came along  
"Ruto was right," I said  
"About what?" he asked as we walked there  
"When we first arrived, she said the water was growing colder with each day that passed."  
"The ice has been seen in larger chunks nowadays. Hey, the other day I found something that might interest you" he said  
"What?"  
"It's a cavern but it's all iced over"  
We reached the lake.  
"Look, Jabu-Jabu is gone" I pointed out  
"Probably got too cold for him" Dmitri said  
"Who cares? He was a giant fish anyway. So, where's this cavern?"  
"Follow me"  
Dmitri jumped on patches of ice until we reached a piece of land with a huge opening to the cavern. We ventured inside it. Everything was around us was covered in a thick layer of ice.  
"Look out!" Dmitri yelled pulling me out of the way as ice stalactites fell from the ceiling.  
"Thanks"  
We continued on until we reached a large room.  
"The only problem is that all the openings are sealed by this weird red ice."  
I heard a loud rumble and the ground began to shake.  
"Look out" I yelled pulling Dmitri out of the way of more falling ice.  
"Thanks"  
"Oh no, the entrance is caving in" I saw in the distance  
We ran as fast as we could out of there. We barely got out as rocks came tumbling down. We started to go back when something hard hit me in the back of the head and I blacked out.  
Dmitri woke me up awhile later by splashing me with water.  
"We made it out but an octorok hit us both when we had our backs turned" he explained. "Hey, Saira, I was thinking"  
"About?"  
"Well. us"  
"I don't follow"  
"Have you ever thought about me and you? You know? Together?"  
"I've thought about it, sure, but I don't know. I think it'd be weird"  
"Well, do you want to try? I mean we've been through a lot so I seriously doubt we'll ever stop being friends'  
"Okay. okay" I said smiling  
"Cool. C'mon, we better get back" he said  
Dmitri and I headed back holding hands. It was weird, but I liked it. The closer we got to Zora's Domain, the more ice there was. We were walking on ice by the time we got there, where we found every inch frozen over. All the Zoras were trapped in the ice under the water.  
"Oh, my god" I whispered as I looked at Ruto under the ice. "What could freeze over this entire place within a matter of hours?"  
"Better question is ho and I pretty sure I know"  
"Everything is frozen except the main entrance and we can't get out."  
I heard movement below us and I saw none other than Princess Zelda. She saw us and motioned for us to come down. We did still in shock seeing everything the way it was.  
"I never --. I thought here would be safe," Zelda stammered  
"It was safe. This just happened" I said, "But it's not up to you where I would be safe anyway"  
"We went to the lake. When we got back, everything was frozen" Dmitri said  
"Ganondorf has been waiting for that moment. He can't risk killing you," She said to me ignoring Dmitri.  
"You've got to let us leave" Dmitri said  
Zelda snapped her fingers, "Then go. Don't bother trying to get your things. It's frozen shut. I will try to free the princess. Go!"  
I ran out as fast as my legs could take me. I didn't stop until I couldn't run anymore because I started having a vision  
I saw a village, then my mind went fast forward up a long trail, then I felt like I was climbing and before I knew it I was at the top. There was an opening I was about to walk through when I snapped out of it.  
"Damn" I said  
"Love, what'd you see?"  
"There's something at the top of Death Mountain. I saw a cave but I don't know what's there"  
"Well, then that's our next stop." Dmitri said encouragingly.  
  
We followed the river downstream for two days. Luckily I knew enough magic to get food and shelter. All my things were still in Zora's Domain, and I probably wouldn't see them again for a long time.  
We headed to Kakariko Village, which is at the base of Death Mountain. It's left of the castle up a flight of stairs. The Death Mountain Trail starts in the village too.  
Dmitri grabbed my hand as we started walking up the stairs to the village. The only village I've ever seen was Kokiri and those were all small tree houses so it was weird to see full size buildings in Hyrule. Dmitri had changed his hair blue again when we got to Zora's Domain and despite my attempts to get him to change, he never did.  
At the entrance, two redheaded men were laughing loudly. A creepy looking old lady was muttering in front of a large house up two levels. A house with boarded up windows was in front of that. The bazaar was straight ahead up a small flight of stairs. Houses spanned across the left side except in the far corner where there were two potion shops. I could see the trail up Death Mountain to the left between two houses.  
"Well, here goes nothing" he said  
We headed towards the trail until we heard a yell and stopped dead in our tracks.  
"DMITRI!! SAIRA!!"  
"Please tell me that's not who I think it is" Dmitri whispered to me  
"I'm pretty sure it would be your dear old mum, Vienne," I said  
Slowly we turned around. Vienne had a look on her face as if she couldn't decide whether to be happy or furious. She ran up and threw her arms around us and gave us hugs and kisses.  
"Oh my. When did you get here?"  
"Just now, mum"  
"You shouldn't have left Kokiri. It's dangerous in Hyrule these days"  
Dmitri and I exchanged looks and smiled. Then Vienne noticed Dmitri's hand holding mine.  
"You? And her? Together? Oh!" Vienne started crying but then she became angry again. "How long have you been out on your own?"  
"Um. Uh. Well" he said  
"Nearly 4 years" I said quietly  
"4 YEARS!? 4 YEARS?!"  
Vienne took us to their house where Stu was sitting reading a book. For nearly an hour they yelled and scolded us, mainly about Dmitri's hair, but at the same time were happy that we were safe and they were just ecstatic that Dmitri and I were an item. After a long time of yelling we were confined to the village.  
July was beginning and I still needed to climb Death Mountain and fin out what was in the cave I'd seen in my vision. For 2 weeks I'd planned for Dmitri to cause a diversion while I ran away.  
"So, what's your plan? How are you going to create a diversion?"  
"The cuccos have been pinned up and quite for a long time and I happened to come in possession of fireworks"  
"You're a genius. Okay, it's almost 2:00. Go now"  
I went to the trail but I didn't go until heard the shrieking of cuccos. Everyone in the small town immediately began running towards the shrieking cuccos. I made my way up the trail. Tektites littered the trail, but I knew a spell to freeze them in place.  
I climbed the trail slowly. I could have easily made it up in one day but I wanted to see everything I could. I went inside the Dodongo cave but when I got burn by one of them I decided not to venture further. For three days I climbed until I reached Goron city. Gorons, to me, were weird creatures. They look like beige walking rocks and they're not very smart except for the leader they follow.  
All the Gorons I met seemed too preoccupied with eating and sleeping to help me with anything. Their city was all indoors and had 4 levels. One Goron told me the leader was on the very bottom level. I went inside since the door was open and an enormous Goron with a spiky hairstyle was.  
"Who dares come here?" he said gruffly  
I bowed respectfully before speaking.  
"My name is Sairalinde Trinity"  
"Trinity? Hmph, I know a boy by the name of Link Trinity. He's a hero of the Gorons. Do you know him?"  
"I do. Link is my brother"  
"Really? Well, I am Darunia and anyone who shares blood with Link is a friend to the Gorons too. What do you want?"  
"What is at the top of the mountain?"  
"The Great Faery of Wisdom lives there"  
"Thank you."  
I started to leave  
"Wait, where is your brother?"  
"That's why I must see the faery"  
"Do you need any help?"  
"No, I can manage"  
With that I departed. I reached the part of the mountain I saw in my vision that I had been dreading; the straight up climb to the Great Faery. By the time I reached the top, I could barely walk from exhaustion. I staggered into the tunnel leading inside. It was identical inside as the one I had encountered in the desert with Dmitri. I played the song of the Royal Family and once again the room filled with the Great Faery's laughter as she emerged from the water. She looked identical with the same majestic appearance and spoke with the same wisdom.  
"Sairalinde. If I am not mistaken, I am not the first of the Great Faeries you have found, am I?"  
"No, I have seen the Great Faery of Magic as well" I answered, "I've come to -"  
"You've come to know what has happened to your brother. I can answer but it saddens me that it will not be the answer you want to hear"  
"He' not -"  
"No he is not dead but he is not here in Hyrule. Link has been sealed in the Sacred Realm. The sage of Light, Rauru, will keep him there until he is ready to awaken as the Hero of Time"  
"When will that be?"  
"Alas, I cannot say. And now I must ask you to go back to the village. I'll reward you with the same gift I gave to your brother many years ago. This is Din's Fire. Now careful on the way down"  
The Great Faery disappeared and I walked out. I got to the edge and began climbing down. Suddenly the mountain shook with a loud eruption. I lost my grip and began falling gathering speed the farther I fell. For the third time since I left Kokiri, I'd been knocked out cold.  
The sound of music woke me up eventually. I opened my eyes and was staring up at Darunia's large face. I gave a shriek until I realized who it was.  
"You took quite a nasty fall; 30 or 40 feet. Maybe even 50." He said to me  
"How did I get here?" I asked  
"I had some Gorons follow you"  
"How long have I been here?"  
"Two days but I ask you to stay until you're up to full strength."  
It turns out I didn't get fully better until a week had passed. I'd broken my wrist and a few ribs. I went back to Kakariko in a state of depression. I'd spent years searching for Link only to find he's not even in the same realm.  
I reached the village at night and Dmitri was waiting for me. He saw the look on my face and decided not to say anything. He just grabbed my hand and took me home. Vienne's house had many more rooms so Dmitri and I had our own room but he slept in my room anyway out of habit.  
For the next few days, I hardly spoke a word to anyone. I think Dmitri just got fed up with my silence because we were walking one day and he suddenly burst out, almost angry.  
"That's it! I've had it. You're bottling up. You always do this and this time I'm not letting you. What happened on that mountain?"  
I was taken aback at first then felt bad for not telling him. After all, he was my boyfriend now  
"I'm sorry. Sit down and I'll tell you everything"  
I told him word for word everything the Great Faery said to me.  
"So, he's not even in the same realm?"  
"Nope. He could be gone for another 7 years for all I know"  
"Has it really been 7 years?" Dmitri asked  
"Nearly," I said, "On my birthday it will be the anniversary"  
"Your birthday is in a month"  
"Yeah" I said quietly  
Dmitri leaned in but I backed away.  
"Sorry" I said  
"Love, I'm not gonna hurt you"  
"I know. It's just weird"  
"Look, why don't we just try once. If it's too weird, we'll stay friends. If not, we'll continue how we are. Okay? Deal?"  
"Um.. okay" I agreed  
Slowly and nervously I leaned in. I'd never kissed anyone before so I wasn't sure what to do, but from what I could tell, I was doing ok.  
It was a very passionate kiss and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I didn't feel a spark like I think I should have. We pulled away but I kept my eyes closed for a moment before I looked at Dmitri again. I wasn't sure what to say and I couldn't tell anything from his expression.  
"Love, did you, uh, hmm" he stammered  
"Sorry" But Dmitri wasn't angry. In fact, he looked relieved.  
"Oh, good. Neither did I. Friends?"  
"Do you even have to ask?" I gave him a hug incase he had any doubts  
"So, you wanna see what Dampe's up to?" he asked  
"Sure"  
Dampe' was the grave keeper in Kakariko Village. Everyone who died in the Royal Family was buried in the graveyard here. Dampe' had many stores about his travels in Hyrule before he settled in Kakariko. I also liked to talk to the ghosts in the graveyard because some of them were hundreds of years old and could tell you what life was like back then.  
We entered the graveyard where Dampe' was walking around. He looked a little scared until he saw who it was and smirked.  
"Ah Dmitri, Saira. You kids are the only people that come to see poor old Dampe' besides that little brat who comes round' once a week"  
"Who said we came to see you?" Dmitri joked  
"Shut up Dmitri" I laughed  
"Yeah well, kids I got a shocking new tale for you" he started "You haven't visited me for a few days and during that time I was digging a new hole when a Redead attacked me"  
"What's a Redead?" I asked  
"Skeletal creatures whose scream freezes their victim in place. They try to suck the life out of their victim's mouths because they're not fully alive. They're caught between life and death so they steal life from others"  
"How'd you survive?" Dmitri asked  
"I hit em' with me shovel. After their bony fingers latch on, you stop being frozen. I kept me wits about me and beat the thing" he said proudly, "wanna see?"  
"Yeah" we said together  
Dampe' took us to the freshly dug hole and lying at the bottom was the most hideous thing I'd ever seen in my life. It wore an orange mask with two holes for the yes which there wasn't any; only black sockets. There was one more hole for the mouth where long teeth were in a bit down position. The overall creature was mostly bone with muscles here and there with a stretched layer of skin to keep everything together.  
"Where'd it come from?" Dmitri asked  
"Well, long ago and I mean long ago, the spirits that haunted Hyrule built a temple. However many years later, an evil spread, causing so much devastation. The great Sheikah, Impa, protector of Zelda, sealed the evil inside the well and closed the monsters up in the temple. She also kicked out the Gerudos who used to live here and sent them back to the desert."  
"So, the Redead escaped from the temple?" I asked  
"That's my guess." He said  
"Oh, love, we gotta go or my mum will have our hides. Sorry, Dampe'. We'll come back tomorrow"  
Dmitri and I ran home once again friends. Normal, no hassle friends. Luckily we got back just in time and didn't get in trouble. 


	16. Return

Chapter 16  
  
That night I had an interesting dream. I was at a house but it definitely wasn't in Hyrule. I read a sign that said Godric's Hollow. I was inside the house now and there was a baby asleep upstairs. He had jet- black hair, which was very untidy. The two parents were downstairs. The woman had long red hair with bright green eyes, and the man had black untidy hair just like his son. He wore dark black glasses. I could see two wands on a table meaning they were human wizards.  
Suddenly a man in a long black cloak burst in. His face was filled with evil and was very snake-like.  
"Lily! Take Harry and go!" The man with untidy hair yelled.  
My dream followed the woman. She ran upstairs and grabbed the baby boy. She held him in her arms and muttered something under her breath. The snake-like man burst in and pointed his wand at Lily.  
He yelled a spell and green light shot from his wand killing her instantly. He then turned on the baby but the spell back fired. I got a glimpse of the newly made scar shaped like a lightening bolt.  
Everything went by my eyes very quickly. I saw images of the young boy's life until it stopped at a particular moment. He was sitting on a stool wearing a hat. Saira assumed it was some sort of school. It flashed to a moment where he held a blood red stone.  
It went fast again until it showed me a scene where the boy was fighting a giant snake. It skipped again to a scene in a musty room. A pale man with shaggy black hair stood. His clothes were dirty and he had a look of fury on his face.  
I heard whispers in my head as I looked at him. They told me he was a man named Sirius Black, wrongfully accused of murder.  
The whispers also said the boy's name was Harry Potter. Suddenly I woke up. I don't know why. No sound had been made and Dmitri was still snoring in the next room.  
I got up and looked outside. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. I watched the sun come up in all its beauty. As much as I loved the night and staring at the stars, there was just something about the warmth and purity of the sun that touched my heart and made me wait for day. I went into the kitchen and made myself a cup of hot chocolate. Carrying the cup with me, I took a walk around the village where the crisp morning air helped me wake up a little more. By the time I got back, everyone but Dmitri was awake.  
"Good morning Saira" Vienne said  
"Morning Vienne" Even though I thought of Vienne as my mother, I never felt comfortable calling her 'mom.'  
"Are you hungry?"  
"No thanks" I said  
"Could you go wake Dmitri up? I've tried, but I think you're the only that can"  
"My pleasure" I said sneakily  
I walked to Dmitri's room as quiet as I could. Slowly I grabbed his wrist and ran along the inside. Instantly he jumped up fully awake  
"Love, what're you doin' to me?"  
"I know all your secrets, Dmitri. Now, c'mon, we promised to go see Dampe'"  
"It's not even 10:00"  
"I'm awake though. Now c'mon or I'll get your back next" I said reaching for his back.  
He grabbed my wrist as I reached and flipped me over and pinned me.  
"You didn't even give me a chance. At least let me get dressed first"  
I waited outside for Dmitri then we set off for the graveyard a few minutes later. Dampe' was usually awake at 5:00 every morning but we didn't see him walking around as usual and there were no holes he could be in. We went over to his shack where he lived and knocked on the door.  
"Dampe'" I called  
No answer. Slowly we opened the door. Dampe' lying on his bed but he wasn't moving. Dmitri walked over to him but I stayed in the doorway.  
"Love he's.. dead"  
Dampe' was buried that evening. Even though we were sad, we also knew he was very old and didn't have much time left. We also figured the Redead sucked what life he had left.  
  
July rolled around as the weeks went by. Dmitri and I had gotten letters delivered to the house by owls, which we thought was rather weird. The letters were from a wizarding school known as Hogwarts. However we didn't tell Vienne or Stu because we didn't really want to go. Dmitri threw his in the trash in his room but I put mine away in my desk. I still don't know why I kept it but I did.  
A few more weeks went by and it was now my 14th birthday. I refused any gifts and wouldn't let anyone throw a party or even acknowledge it was my birthday. However, Vienne insisted she at least bake me a cake, which I gave in to, to make her happy.  
The following day was bright and nary a cloud covered the sky. The air was the perfect temperature and I felt this bright cheeriness didn't fit my mood at all. All day I walked around with a weird feeling. It wasn't a bad feeling but I couldn't explain where it was coming from.  
Around midday Dmitri and I sat on the roof practicing changing appearances. I was really good and could always do it on the first try but Dmitri could only fully change his hair and eyes without any help. He kept his hair fully blue now but he only did it to spite his parents who hated it. I'd gotten used to it and supported how different he liked to be.  
Far away in the distance someone was coming. I didn't turn to see who it was. The feeling I had been carrying was stronger than ever. One glimpse in that direction and my heart lifted and all my fears melted away. I climbed off the roof and ran. I ran and I didn't stop until I jumped on Link and forced both of us to fall over.  
"Oh god Link. It's you! It's really you! I'm not imagining this! You're really here! I'm not imagining!"  
Tears of joy flowed down my cheeks. Link didn't say a word. He just held me tight. He was much older than I remember but I could never mistake him, and that glimpse made me the happiest person alive at that moment. I continued repeating myself.  
"Shh. I'm here. I'm here," he said quietly  
  
For the longest time, I sat there in his arms and never wanted him to let me go. That day was the happiest of my life. After 7 long years of waiting, Link had finally come back. While we sat there, he did warn me that Rauru could call at any moment for him but I prayed to the goddesses it would be awhile.  
I finally let go of him and he began to show me the things he'd gotten on his journey through Hyrule. The coolest thing to me was when he showed me the legendary Master Sword. I'd read about it in many stories but I never thought I would get to hold it in my hands. It was the very sword that vanquished the first evil. It alone possessed the power to destroy Ganondorf and return peace to our land.  
Deep down, I was furious with Link. I was so angry because he'd left, and that I had been left alone. If I weren't so happy about his return, I would have yelled at him until I was hoarse.  
"Vienne will want to see you. Stu too" I said  
"You're the only one I want to see right now. I haven't seen my baby sister's face in so many years"  
Dmitri slowly walked over and Link got up and embraced him as a brother. Almost immediately Link commented about Dmitri's hair. It was a happy reunion in the middle of the village. Eventually we headed back to the house where Vienne repeated the same greeting to Link as she had done for us. However he didn't get scolded quite as much since he was older. Link entertained us all that night with his adventure through Hyrule. Of course he didn't realize that Dmitri and I had had our own adventure so when it was our turn, he yelled at me good for going off on my own. But then he started asking us if we had gone to certain places.  
"One of my favorites that made me think of you was the Gerudo River. Down at the bottom anyway." He said  
"What's at the bottom? Dmitri and I only went to the fortress." I asked  
"Did you see the waterfall at all?"  
"All we did was see it as we passed over the bridge"  
"It's an amazing sight, but actually being right next to it was intense. The water is crystal clear as is all the water in Hyrule."  
"Wow. I wish we had gone there now"  
"Why can't you go?"  
"Oh I don't know. Maybe its because Ganondorf wants the both of us dead" I said.  
"Are you worried about that? I wouldn't be. According to the sages, Ganondorf has not left his castle in a long time. He'll be nowhere near us"  
And the next morning, Dmitri, Link, and me rode off towards the Gerudo River. It took us only a day or two to get there on horses. It looked much different since the last time I had been there. The bridge that spanned across the river was nothing but splinters now and no guards stood in front. I looked over the edge of the cliff and down at the river but I didn't see any way down.  
"Um, Link, tell me man, how are we supposed to get down there?" Dmitri said.  
"See that tiny little trail leading down"  
"Oh, you mean the one where one wrong step and we'd plummet to our deaths?" I said sarcastically.  
"That'd be the one"  
Somehow, I'm not sure how, but somehow, we all made it down with no problem. There was a small flat piece of land near where the waterfall hit the water. Link had been right about the water though. The water was clear as air. If the water didn't change the image I would have thought it was air. The current wasn't strong so we could swim without fear of being swept off.  
Dmitri and Link found a ladder behind the waterfall that led up about halfway to a small cave-like area in the rock. While they climbed, I made dinner for us. I kept expecting to wake up and still be staring at the ceiling from my bed wishing Link were there. But I never did.  
We slept under the stars for several nights. Link and I resumed our old games of creating our own constellations and claiming stars for ourselves. Link found it weird when Dmitri fell asleep lying across my legs.  
"You've been gone a long time. Things have changed," I said  
  
"HEY. LOVE!!??" I heard Dmitri yell.  
I looked around but didn't see him.  
"LOOK UP!!"  
I did and saw him barely balancing at the top of the waterfall. How he got up there, I don't know.  
"Dmitri get down before you fall" I yelled worried  
"FALL? NO. I WAS GOING TO JUMP!!" he said  
"JUMP!! Dmitri no!"  
Too late. I watched sight that would scare me beyond anything that had happened to me so far. Dmitri's foot slipped from under him and he began to fall with the water. However, many rocks were sticking out and I saw Dmitri hit each one with sickening crunches. Blood began to fall a few feet below him. He landed with a huge splash in the misty, bubbled water at the bottom.  
"Dmitri!!!" I shrieked  
Clothes and all I dove into the water. It wasn't hard to find him because a cloud of red water surrounded my friend. I put my arms around him as gently as I could and pulled him towards the surface. Link was waiting on shore and helped me get him out.  
"Where were you?" I asked Link  
"I was going to get something to eat when I saw him fall"  
"He's not breathing"  
After many attempts trying to get him to breath physically, I finally used magic and he began instantly. I could see many of his bones were broken and dislocated and he had many gashes everywhere from hitting the rocks. He was out cold and nothing I did woke him.  
Link rode as fast as he could to get back to Kakariko. He wouldn't stop until he was there so he rode all day and night switching horses as he went. Vienne took one look at him and presumed the worst. She bandaged him up and he ended up spending a month lying in a bed. After that incident, Vienne would never let him go anywhere outside of Kakariko again.  
November began and the weather began to cool but not quite enough for it to snow. Link and I had spent every moment we possibly could together. I feared everyday he would get the word from Rauru and have to depart again. As much as I tried, I could not prepare myself for when that day came. One night after he hadn't been summoned, I decided to ask him something that had been on my mind.  
"Link?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Why does Ganondorf want me?"  
Link didn't answer right away  
"Have I ever told you about our mother?"  
That wasn't quite the answer I was looking for. "No"  
"I never really knew her. She left me in Kokiri just like you. The Deku Tree told me about her. She was a Seer meaning she had visions. She was also the mother of the 'savior of the worlds.' Ganondorf thinks it's you but he's not sure of the whole story. No one is.  
"You mean I'm supposed to save the worlds?" I laughed  
At that time, I didn't believe him so, when it came true, I was surprised and stunned. It was the last thing I wanted to do. 


	17. The Leave

Chapter 17  
  
The next morning I got up early because I wanted to see the sunrise, but as I walked through the kitchen, the dinner table had many brown packages sitting on top of it. There was a letter on top with no seal and I didn't recognize the handwriting. It read:  
Dear Sairalinde,  
These are for you. Do NOT open at this time. You will know when the time is right.  
  
I put the packages in my room under my bed before anyone saw them. I wanted to open them but I obeyed the letter. I had a suspicion they were from the same people who sent the letter from Hogwarts. I went to take my letter out of my desk drawer and compared the handwriting, however, the letter was gone. I looked everywhere for it but eventually assumed Vienne had come in a thrown it away.  
I went outside just in time to see the sun come over the horizon. I went back inside and changed my clothes. I had some quick breakfast then walked out again. I had gotten a job at the potion shop now so work took my mind off everything. The young man who owned it was very skilled and taught me a lot.  
After work, Dmitri, Link and I ran around the village. It was so good to be able to wrestle around with my brother and best friend. There were other Hylian elf-girls but most of them thought I was strange. I often found Dmitri sneaking off with them but I didn't care. He was a boy after all.  
It began to snow and once the ground was covered, we started making snow angels. I stopped midway becoming very dizzy. Pain shot through my head like an arrow. The pain was just like when I was back in Earth with Dmitri. The pain escalated until I had no control. The last thing I remember was bursting into screams as the villagers gathered around until I woke up in my bed with Link sitting next to me.  
"What happened?" I said trying to sit up  
"You tell me," he said with his voice cracking, "You started screaming in the middle of the village. You said things but it was incoherent. Saira, I never remember you doing that in Kokiri."  
"Link, I probably should have mentioned when you got back that I have visions now." I said guiltily.  
"What? When did that happen?"  
"The before you got stuck in the Sacred Realm, I had my first vision. I know what happened was a vision but I have no memory of what I saw"  
  
The next few days were not enjoyable. Everyone had officially labeled me a freak. Everyone in the village shunned me and treated me with hate and disrespect. There were a few people who didn't care because they knew me well but as I said, there were only a few. Even the owner of the potion shop who was a good friend, fired me because he claimed I drove away business, when there hadn't been any for a long time.  
If Link and Dmitri hadn't been there, I would have gone insane from loneliness. My situation worsened, if possible, after I had two more screaming fits and still, I couldn't remember them. The pain always lingered after I had one and the only thing that eased my mind was swimming.  
Two weeks into December, the one thing I was dreading beyond anything was going to happen. Zelda, disguised as Sheik, appeared at the house saying Link must begin his journey to awaken the six sages of Hyrule to free it from evil's grip.  
"Link, its time" That was the first thing she said  
The moment I heard those words, I thought my heart had shattered into a million pieces. I sat down in a chair a fought back tears.  
"Sairalinde, go get your thing" she ordered  
No I was confused, "Huh?"  
"I believe you have packages underneath your bed that were sent to you not long ago, am I right?"  
"What does that have to do with Link leaving?"  
"They're your supplies and uniform for school," she said  
"Sc-school?" I stuttered  
"Yes, you'll be going to Hogwarts in Earth. Link is staying here to fulfill his destiny while you must go improve your magic skills for your part to play" she said, "I'll leave you both to get ready"  
She left the room and I noticed Link was doing all he could not to look at me.  
"Did you know?" But still he didn't answer. "That's why my letter was missing"  
"I wanted to tell you but Sheik thought it would be better if you didn't know"  
I was overwhelmed by everything that was happening. I looked at Link but he still would not meet my eyes. I felt like my head was going to explode. I couldn't decide what to say so I finally gave up and when Link headed for the door, I stopped him and let whatever would come, come.  
  
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/* /*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*  
  
I'm sorry this isn't my best chapter but I was speedwriting. One day I'll redo it. If you're wondering what happens, go to Destiny's Heroes, which was actually written before this. 


End file.
